Microbiology usually only refers to the study of prokaryotic
organisms: Bacteria and Archaea. This disposition does not do
justice to the enormous diversity of unicellular eukaryotes (=
protists), and their direct multicellular descendants, the
seaweeds. These organisms encompass an evolutionary and functional
diversity which far exceeds that of plants, animals or Fungi, and
play a crucial yet understudied (and hence undervalued) role in
ecosystems. The organisms which will be dealt with in this book
range from minute to super-sized and include some well-known
examples such as Euglena, Paramecium and the green and brown algae
we all know from the breakwaters on our coast, but also many
parasites, causing important human diseases such as malaria and
sleeping disease. It has been estimated that a single group of
microalgae, the diatoms, is responsible for more than a quarter of
the total primary production on earth, more than all the tropical
rainforests of the world taken together. They form the basis of
marine food webs which are becoming increasingly important for
human subsistence.
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