International Census of Marine Microbes

{{Short description|Field project of the Census of Marine Life}}

{{Infobox organization

|name = International Census of Marine Microbes

|abbreviation = ICoMM

|established = 2004

|headquarters = The Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole

|website = [http://icomm.mbl.edu/ International Census of Marine Microbes]

|parent_organization = Census of Marine Life

}}

The International Census of Marine Microbes is a field project of the Census of Marine Life that inventories microbial diversity by cataloging all known diversity of single-cell

organisms including bacteria, Archaea, Protista, and associated viruses, exploring and discovering unknown microbial diversity, and placing that knowledge into ecological and evolutionary contexts.{{cite news|last1=Agence France-Presse|title=Ocean census uncovers microbe world|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-04-19/ocean-census-uncovers-microbe-world/401272|accessdate=31 August 2017|work=ABC News|date=19 April 2010|language=en-AU}}{{cite journal|last1=Qiu|first1=Jane|author1-link=Jane Qiu|title=It's a microbial world|journal=Nature|date=18 April 2010|doi=10.1038/news.2010.190}}{{cite news|last1=Kinver|first1=Mark|title=Census offers glimpse of oceans' smallest lifeforms|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8622608.stm|accessdate=31 August 2017|agency=BBC News|date=18 April 2010}}{{cite web |title=International Census of Marine Microbes (ICoMM) |url=http://www.coml.org/projects/international-census-marine-microbes-icomm |website=Census of Marine Life |access-date=31 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317223727/http://www.coml.org/projects/international-census-marine-microbes-icomm |archive-date=17 March 2016|df=}}

The ICoMM program, led by Mitchell Sogin, has discovered that marine microbial diversity is some 10 to 100 times more than expected, and the vast majority are previously unknown, low abundance organisms thought to play an important role in the oceans.{{cite news|last1=Marine Biological Laboratory|title=Ocean microbe census discovers diverse world of rare bacteria|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060829081744.htm|accessdate=31 August 2017|work=ScienceDaily|date=2 September 2006|language=en}}