Shells of planktonic foraminifera recovered from marine sediments provide a multitude of important palaeoproxies. Most of these proxies are based on the assumption that each morphospecies of planktonic foraminifera represents a genetically continuous species with a unique habitat. Recent discovery of hitherto hidden genetic diversity among modern planktonic foraminifera has significant repercus...

Vorticella includes more than 100 currently recognized species and represents one of the most taxonomically challenging genera of ciliates. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of Vorticella has been performed so far with only sequences coding for small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA); only a few of its species have been investigated using other genetic markers owing to a lack of similar sequences ...

Molecular tools have revolutionized the exploration of biodiversity, especially in organisms for which traditional taxonomy is difficult, such as for microscopic animals (meiofauna). Environmental (eDNA) metabarcode surveys of DNA extracted from sediment samples are increasingly popular for surveying biodiversity. Most eDNA surveys use the nuclear gene-encoding small-subunit rDNA gene (18S) as ...