Prochlorococcus cyanobacteria are very highly abundant in sea water. Why was Prochlorococcus not discovered until the 1980s? Please select all that apply.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Prochlorococcus cells are hard to distinguish by light microscopy and do not grow on common laboratory media (Prochlorococcus can now be cultured in the laboratory, but special media are used). Metagenome sequencing was not available until after the 1980s, so played no part in the discovery of Prochlorococcus. Prochlorococcus species are photosynthetic (like all cyanobacteria) but this did not hamper discovery.

Prochlorococcus Cyanobacteria Are Very Highly Abundant in Sea Water