[6][7] This led to a disproportionate amount of research discussing a single species and the suggestion that it was the dominant photosynthetic picoeukaryote in some marine ecosystems.

[6] The antibiotic susceptibility was determined using a single strain of M. pusilla with the purpose to produce axenic cultures to be used in studies and experiments.

[24] It has been discovered that most of its xanthophylls are in the oxidized state and show similarities to ones possessed by other important marine planktons like diatoms, golden and brown algae, and dinoflagellates.

[25] In addition, there is another pigment called Chl cCS-170 can be found in some strains of Micromonas and Ostreococcus living in deeper part of the ocean, which may indicate a potential adaptation for organisms that reside under low light intensity;[6] however, at least for Ostreococcus, these strains are found throughout the water column in open ocean gyres, including in surface waters.

[26] The light-harvesting complexes of Micromonas are distinguishable from other green algae in terms of pigment composition and stability under unfavorable conditions.

Some years ago a study indicated that Micromonas had a predatory mixotrophic lifestyle that might have large impacts on prokaryotic populations within the Arctic.

[28] Due to the large consumption of prokaryotes by Micromonas, this study and others building on it, suggested it might underlie why photosynthetic picoeukaryotes appear to be increasing in the arctic.

[29][30] Viruses are important in the balance of marine ecosystem by regulating the composition of microbial communities, but their behaviors can be affected by several factors including temperature, mode of infection and host conditions.

[37] Evidence suggests that the increase in temperature due to climate change may shift the clonal composition of both the virus and host.

[37] With the growing population in the world, there is an increased demand for wild fishes and algae for their source of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), which is required for growth and development, as well as the maintenance of health in humans.

Recent research is investigating an alternative mechanism for production of PUFA by using acyl-CoA Δ6-desaturase, an enzyme present in M. pusilla, with plants.

The M. pusilla strain of acyl-CoA Δ6-desaturase is highly effective in the polyunsaturated fatty acid synthesis pathway due to its strong binding preference for omega-3 substrates in land plants.