208
10.1 Introduction
Marine systems are vast, productive, long-lived, dynamic, and complex. However,
they are also finite and sensitive and can be overwhelmingly altered or impacted by
strong short-term pressures of environmental or human origin. As these pressures
and impacts proceed in the natural environment, it is crucial to consider questions
about how these systems function and respond to change. What feeds and balances
marine ecosystems? How do biooceanographic processes vary geographically,
genetically, functionally, and in accordance with environmental change? What are
the strengths and weaknesses of marine systems, and what are the ways in which
they are likely to adapt to future ocean conditions? Can we transform detailed
observations of past and present systems into valuable predictions and answers to
present and future questions?
Marine ecosystems are fed and balanced primarily by the photosynthesis and
nutrient cycling ubiquitous marine microalgae. The biology, photosynthesis, and
life cycles of these organisms have adapted, evolved, diversified, and colonized all
parts of the diverse and dynamic oceans, providing a food source and biogeochemical shuttle that sustains almost all other sea life. The ubiquity and critical function
of robust primary productivity by marine microalgae are now wholly evident and
fundamentally accepted (Falkowski 1997; Falkowski et al. 1998). However, the true
complexity, variability, and adaptive paths that govern wild marine microbial systems now and in future scenarios are far from entirely measured or understood.
Broad and precise new capabilities now exist to measure and model the identities, distribution, dynamics, and functions of cellular processes operating in biological systems. More importantly, new questions can be addressed holistically based
upon these increasing data (Karsenti et al. 2011). How do marine organisms balance
their complex physiologies and cellular states in order to persist, thrive, and produce? What are the organized systems of genes and proteins that have specifically
evolved to sense, respond, and catalyze these processes? How do these diverse and
highly evolved unicellular machines manage to cope with dynamic and challenging
conditions? What are the chemical species and processes that crucially mediate
competitive and cooperative exchange? How do numerous evidently co-occurring
species truly co-exist? How quickly can these functions adapt to new changes, and
which features of biological systems are most subject to novel environmental and
Contents
10.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 208
10.2 Systems Biology ............................................................................................................ 209
10.3 Marine Microalgal Genomics ........................................................................................ 210
10.4 Marine Microalgal Transcriptomics ............................................................................... 212
10.5 Proteomics and Metabolomics ....................................................................................... 214
10.6 Integration and Meta-analysis ........................................................................................ 215
10.7 Prediction and Synthesis ................................................................................................ 216
References ................................................................................................................................. 217
J. Ashworth
10.1 Introduction
Marine systems are vast, productive, long-lived, dynamic, and complex. However,
they are also finite and sensitive and can be overwhelmingly altered or impacted by
strong short-term pressures of environmental or human origin. As these pressures
and impacts proceed in the natural environment, it is crucial to consider questions
about how these systems function and respond to change. What feeds and balances
marine ecosystems? How do biooceanographic processes vary geographically,
genetically, functionally, and in accordance with environmental change? What are
the strengths and weaknesses of marine systems, and what are the ways in which
they are likely to adapt to future ocean conditions? Can we transform detailed
observations of past and present systems into valuable predictions and answers to
present and future questions?
Marine ecosystems are fed and balanced primarily by the photosynthesis and
nutrient cycling ubiquitous marine microalgae. The biology, photosynthesis, and
life cycles of these organisms have adapted, evolved, diversified, and colonized all
parts of the diverse and dynamic oceans, providing a food source and biogeochemical shuttle that sustains almost all other sea life. The ubiquity and critical function
of robust primary productivity by marine microalgae are now wholly evident and
fundamentally accepted (Falkowski 1997; Falkowski et al. 1998). However, the true
complexity, variability, and adaptive paths that govern wild marine microbial systems now and in future scenarios are far from entirely measured or understood.
Broad and precise new capabilities now exist to measure and model the identities, distribution, dynamics, and functions of cellular processes operating in biological systems. More importantly, new questions can be addressed holistically based
upon these increasing data (Karsenti et al. 2011). How do marine organisms balance
their complex physiologies and cellular states in order to persist, thrive, and produce? What are the organized systems of genes and proteins that have specifically
evolved to sense, respond, and catalyze these processes? How do these diverse and
highly evolved unicellular machines manage to cope with dynamic and challenging
conditions? What are the chemical species and processes that crucially mediate
competitive and cooperative exchange? How do numerous evidently co-occurring
species truly co-exist? How quickly can these functions adapt to new changes, and
which features of biological systems are most subject to novel environmental and
Contents
10.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 208
10.2 Systems Biology ............................................................................................................ 209
10.3 Marine Microalgal Genomics ........................................................................................ 210
10.4 Marine Microalgal Transcriptomics ............................................................................... 212
10.5 Proteomics and Metabolomics ....................................................................................... 214
10.6 Integration and Meta-analysis ........................................................................................ 215
10.7 Prediction and Synthesis ................................................................................................ 216
References ................................................................................................................................. 217
J. Ashworth