AUTHOR=Kuwata Akira , Yamada Kazumasa , Ichinomiya Mutsuo , Yoshikawa Shinya , Tragin Margot , Vaulot Daniel , Lopes dos Santos Adriana TITLE=Bolidophyceae, a Sister Picoplanktonic Group of Diatoms – A Review JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science VOLUME=5 YEAR=2018 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2018.00370 DOI=10.3389/fmars.2018.00370 ISSN=2296-7745 ABSTRACT=

Pico- and nano-phytoplankton (respectively, 0.2–2 and 2–20 μm in cell size) play a key role in many marine ecosystems. In this size range, Bolidophyceae is a group of eukaryotes that contains species with cells surrounded by 5 or 8 silica plates (Parmales) as well as naked flagellated species (formerly Bolidomonadales). Bolidophyceae share a common ancestor with diatoms, one of the most successful groups of phytoplankton. This review summarizes the current information on taxonomy, phylogeny, ecology, and physiology obtained by recent studies using a range of approaches including metabarcoding. Despite their rather small contribution to the phytoplankton communities (on average less than 0.1%), Bolidophyceae are very widespread throughout marine systems from the tropics to the pole. This review concludes by discussing similarities and differences between Bolidophyceae and diatoms.