Molecular biological research on Foraminifera

As one of the most important groups in micropaleontology, Foraminifera is traditionally described to have a membranous, agglutinated or carbonate shell according to its morphology, which resembles the marine granuloreticuloseans. However, recent molecular analyses on its ribosomal RNA gene have disclosed the existence of the naked, and also freshwater and terrestrial species. Foraminiferal SSU rDNA sequence suggests that this group is positioned at the base of the Eukaryotes phylogenetic trees, between Euglenoida and Diplomonadida. Existence of a large amount of genetic types in planktonic foraminifera suggests an underestimation of the biodiversity for the nearly 50 species in world oceans and their close relationship with the ocean environment, such as bio-geographic distribution and water currents. This provides a more reliable proxy for future paleoenvironmental study.