Taxonomic, ecological and physiological research progress in Skeletonema (Bacillariophyta)

Skeletonema is a globally distributed wide-temperature and wide-salt planktonic diatom genus.It is frequently found in coastal estuaries and marine environments.In recent years, it has also appeared in freshwater.The species of Skeletonema can be used as bait, biodiesel feedstock and cancer drug candidates, and it is also a type of algae that can cause red tides.This article reviewed the research progress of Skeletonema in systematic taxonomy, ecology, and physiology, their research prospections were given as well.