Metagenomics

Metagenomics is the study of genetic material recovered directly from environmental samples. The broad field may also be referred to as environmental genomics, ecogenomics or community genomics.

Introduction

While traditional microbiology and microbial genome sequencing and genomics rely upon cultivated clonal cultures, early environmental gene sequencing cloned specific genes (often the 16S rRNA gene) to produce a profile of diversity in a natural sample. Such work revealed that the vast majority of microbial biodiversity had been missed by cultivation-based methods.

History

Norman R. Pace first suggested the term "metagenomics" at the 1998 Nebraska Symposium on Microbial Ecology. The field of metagenomics experienced a rapid development since the advent of next-generation sequencing technologies.

Techniques

Metagenomics involves the use of traditional microscopy (for direct ecological observations), biochemistry techniques (to isolate DNA and RNA from sample), PCR (to amplify the DNA), and DNA sequencing and bioinformatics (to analyze the results).

Applications

Metagenomics has many practical applications. It is used in medicine to study the human microbiome, the collective genomes of the microorganisms that reside in the human body. Metagenomics can also be used in agriculture to study the soil microbiome and its effects on crop productivity.

Challenges

Despite its potential, metagenomics faces several challenges. These include the difficulty of assembling short reads into complete genomes, the computational challenge of handling large amounts of data, and the challenge of assigning function to unknown genes.

See also

• Microbiome
• Genomics
• Microbiology
• Bioinformatics

References

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