French environmental non-profit Tara Expeditions has completed a DNA map of the microorganisms in the world's oceans and discovered 35,000 species, sources said Thursday.
From 2009 to 2013, scientists and marine biologists - including a team from the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station in Naples - collected the genomes of millions of micro-organisms in 210 ocean sites, identifying 40 million genes and 35,000 previously unknown species.
Preliminary results published on Science magazine reveal some of the underlying mechanisms of this invisible ecosystem which feeds the oceans' creatures, influence global climate and produces half of the planet's oxygen.
Tara Expeditions has been active since 2003 in favor of the environment. Its legendary schooner built for extreme conditions named Tara is the platform for high-level scientific research missions on the ocean in relation to biodiversity, climate, and humankind.
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