Abstract:

Microbes with rich species and genetic diversity are widely distributed throughout various habitats in the world. China possesses a variety of climate zones, geographic environments, and complex ecosystems, which play a large role shaping the complex biodiversity of this country. Microbial diversity has been widely studied and well documented by Chinese scientists. For example, a total of ca. 14,700 eukaryotic microbe species have been recorded, including ca. 14,060 fungi, ca. 300 oomycetes, and ca. 340 slime molds. Within the Fungi, there have been 473 medicinal fungal species and 966 edible fungal taxa recorded. However, recent studies have documented much high species diversity of prokaryotic microbes using molecular techniques, which have greatly promoted the study level of microbial diversity in China. This review paper summarizes recent research progress of microbial (i.e., archaea, bacteria, fungi, oomycetes, and slime molds) diversity in China based on traditional and molecular techniques.

Key words: eukaryotic microbe, prokaryotic microbe, species diversity, cultivation method, molecular technique