Metatranscriptome Sequencing Literature Interpretation
Introduction:
Protist-alga symbiosis is much more widespread in the marine ecosystem than previously thought, both spatially and taxonomically. Field and laboratory observations have documented a wide range of host integration of symbionts, from enslaving transiently kept chloroplasts to permanent intact-cell endosymbionts. However, the degree of host integration and function of endosymbionts in natural plankton assemblages in situ is poorly understood and severely understudied.