A short review on Foraminifera studies: retrospective, perspective and prospective

Abstract

Foraminifera or Forams as they are generally called are ubiquitous eukaryotic marine ameboid protists found all over the globe and cover thousands of species living currently in the sea and some in freshwater as well. The classical research studies on Foraminifera are limited to its morphologies such as shell shape, material, ornamentation and chamber formation due to the lack of molecular data of DNA sequences. This review will help an aspiring Foraminiferalogist to take molecular studies by providing a basic understanding of Foraminifera collection and processing as well as detailing its commonly used fingerprint region called SSU DNA which can be used to better understand its phylogenetics and help us better decode the nature of these ameboid protists with each other as well as with other species. The lack of molecular studies on Foraminifera in the region of the Indian subcontinent suggests a huge potential of research that can be carried out on Foraminifera DNA.