Protists Beyond Traditional Boundaries: Evolution and Ecology at the Protist-Meiofauna Interface

Protists and meiofaunal organisms constitute the dominant diversity of microscopic eukaryotic life and play fundamental roles in the structure and functioning of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. Although these communities coexist in virtually every habitat and are increasingly studied using similar conceptual and methodological approaches, research on protists and meiofauna has largely developed within separate scientific communities. As a result, opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration and synthesis remain underexploited.Recent advances in integrative taxonomy, phylogenomics, environmental DNA, metabarcoding, high-resolution imaging, and ecological modelling have transformed our ability to investigate microscopic biodiversity across the tree of life. These approaches now provide unprecedented opportunities to compare evolutionary patterns, ecological processes, functional diversity, and biogeographic distributions across protists and meiofaunal organisms within shared ecosystems.This Research Topic aims to promote dialogue between protistologists and meiofaunal researchers by bringing together studies that explore common questions in evolution, ecology, biodiversity, and functional biology. Rather than focusing on individual taxonomic groups, the collection seeks contributions that advance our understanding of microscopic eukaryotic communities through interdisciplinary approaches.We welcome original research articles, reviews, perspectives, and methodological papers addressing topics including, but not limited to:* Evolution and diversification of microscopic eukaryotes* Integrative taxonomy and systematics* Comparative genomics and phylogenomics* Biodiversity, biogeography, and community assembly* Functional ecology and ecosystem processes* Trophic interactions and microbial food webs* Environmental DNA, metabarcoding, and emerging molecular approaches* Imaging technologies and quantitative methods* Responses of microscopic communities to environmental change* Comparative studies integrating protists and meiofaunal organisms across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystemsBy fostering collaboration between traditionally separate research communities, this collection aims to stimulate new perspectives on the evolution, ecology, and diversity of microscopic eukaryotic life and encourage future interdisciplinary research at the protist–meiofauna interface. Topic editors: Anush Kosakyan, Valentina Serra, Michele Castelli Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85503/protists-beyond-traditional-boundaries-evolution-and-ecology-at-the-protist-meiofauna-interface