Microbial Genomics: From Single Species to Whole Environment
Karen E. Nelson
13 Apr 2007
In the mid 1990's the real launch of the genomic era began with the availability of the complete genome sequence of Haemophilus influenzae (Fleischmann, Adams et al. 1995). Since that major success, there have been numerous examples of genomes from organisms that represent all the domains of life, including the completion of hundreds of microbial genomes (with an additional estimated hundreds of partial genomes (Mongodin, Emerson et al. 2005)). This work laid the foundation for generating genome sequence information from whole environments without using a first culturing step, a field of research now known as "metagenomics." Among the communities that have been the subject of comprehensive metagenomic studies are soils (Tringe, von Mering et al. 2005), the human gastrointestinal tract (Gill, Pop et al. 2006), the human oral cavity, the oceans (Venter, Remington et al. 2004), whale fall (Tringe, von Mering et al. 2005), the rumen (Brulc, Antonopoulos et al. 2007) and acid mine drains (Tyson, Chapman et al. 2004). The major findings from these studies as well as results from ongoing metagenomic projects will be presented.