# Global marine microbial diversity and its potential in bioprospecting

*PRI Rank #6 · Topics and Trends in Most Cited Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology Papers, Class of 2026*

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/microbial-community-ecology-and-physiology/2026/rank-6*

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Rank | #6 |
| 18m citations | 128 |
| Journal | Nature |
| Year | 2024 |
| DOI | 10.1038/s41586-024-07891-2 |
| Corresponding authors | Ying Sun, Thomas Möck, Shengying Li, Wenwei Zhang, Guangyi Fan |
| Institution | BGI Research, China |

**Ranking page:** [Topics and Trends in Most Cited Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology Papers, Class of 2026](https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/microbial-community-ecology-and-physiology/2026)

**Paper link:** [10.1038/s41586-024-07891-2](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07891-2)

## Topics

marine metagenomes · bacterial and archaeal genomes · CRISPR–Cas systems · Antimicrobial resistance genes · CRISPR–Cas9 system · antimicrobial peptides · polyethylene terephthalate degradation enzymes · in silico bioprospecting · marine bacterial genome size · trade-offs between CRISPR and antibiotic resistance · 138 distinct phyla · 43,191 genomes · global-scale sequencing · marine microbial diversity · biotechnological applications · biomedical applications

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/microbial-community-ecology-and-physiology/2026. Accessed 2026-07-21.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
```