PROSPECTS FOR DIATOMS IDENTIFICATION USING METAGENOMICS: A REVIEW.

The marine environment is the largest ecosystem, richest in biodiversity and biological activity. Diatoms are almost omnipresent and common in the plankton and benthos in both freshwater and marine environments. They have a major influence on their environment whereas representing a significant part in primary production and carbon fixation in marine ecosystems. Microscopic examination and cell culture technique have been applied to detect, isolate and study the diatom species. On the other hand, molecular methods have contributed to overcome the drawbacks of the classical methods and also to accomplish the research objectives more efficiently. Metagenomics is an advanced molecular method utilizing direct collected microbial samples and has been used in various fields of microbial studies. It provides obvious details on the taxonomy, biodiversity, ecology and further information around the potential functions. Consequently, it can explore the biochemical components that have significant importance in various biotechnology, ecology, biomedicine and industry applications. This review focused on the effectiveness of the metagenomics method for exploring microbial communities and recruiting this to discover the diatom community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]