Use of flow cytometry to measure biogeochemical rates and processes in the ocean

An important goal of marine biogeochemists is to quantify the rates at which elements cycle through the ocean's diverse microbial assemblage, as well as to determine how these rates vary in time and space. The traditional view that phytoplankton are producers and bacteria are consumers has been found to be overly simplistic, and environmental metagenomics is discovering new and important microbial metabolisms at an accelerating rate. Many nutritional strategies previously attributed to one microorganism or functional group are also or instead carried out by other groups. To tease apart which organism is doing what will require new analytical approaches. Flow cytometry, when combined with other techniques, has great potential for expanding our understanding of microbial interactions because groups can be distinguished optically, sorted, and then collected for subsequent analyses. Herein, we review the advances in our understanding of marine biogeochemistry that have arisen from the use of flow cytometry.