The incredible diversity of the genome of the seas and oceans – FranceTV info

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FranceTV info

Updated 05.22.2015 | 3:38 published on 05.22.2015 | 2:29

This is a scientific odyssey that lasted three years. On board their boat, researchers at the Tara Oceans expedition traveled 140,000 kilometers, and 35,000 samples collected along the way. Their goal: to map the biodiversity of plankton

And scientists are certain. The seas and oceans are living organisms. They breathe, absorb half of the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and produce half of our oxygen. The genome of plankton is decrypted.

“These are our original bodies then. They created the atmosphere that allows us to breathe and they continue to do so. (…) Plankton are fundamental “ says to France 3 Eric Karsenti, research director of Tara Oceans. The genetic diversity of plankton is hardly imaginable: viruses, bacteria, single-celled organisms …

And we are only at the early discoveries. Indeed, plankton is composed of 40 million genes, and 80% of them have not yet been studied.

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