About Emiliania huxleyi

Emiliania huxleyi is a unicellular, eukaryotic phytoplankton belonging to the class Coccolithophores of the phylum Haptophyta. E. huxleyi cells are covered with uniquely ornamented calcite (calcium carbonate) disks called coccoliths. They are the third most abundant group of phytoplankton, and during massive blooms they can cover over 100,000 square kilometers and are visible from space.

E. huxleyi plays a key role in biogeochemical cycle because of its ability to fix inorganic carbon into both photosynthetic and biomineralized product, resulting in exporting large amounts of carbon to deep water sediments. In addition to playing an important role in global carbon cycling, E. huxleyi also contributes to global sulfur cycling. During grazing E. huxleyi produces the climatically active trace gas dimethyl sulfide, emissions of which may contribute to marine cloud formation and climate regulation.

Taxonomy ID 280463

Data source Joint Genome Institute

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