Metagenomics For Microbiology

Concisely discussing the application of high throughput analysis to move forward our understanding of microbial principles, Metagenomics for Microbiology provides a solid base for the design and analysis of omics studies for the characterization of microbial consortia. The intended audience includes clinical and environmental microbiologists, molecular biologists, infectious disease experts, statisticians, biostatisticians, and public health scientists. This book focuses on the technological underpinnings of metagenomic approaches and their conceptual and practical applications. With the next-generation genomic sequencing revolution increasingly permitting researchers to decipher the coding information of the microbes living with us, we now have a unique capacity to compare multiple sites within individuals and at higher resolution and greater throughput than hitherto possible. The recent articulation of this paradigm points to unique possibilities for investigation of our dynamic relationship with these cellular communities, and excitingly the probing of their therapeutic potential in disease prevention or treatment of the future. Expertly describes the latest metagenomic methodologies and best-practices, from sample collection to data analysis for taxonomic, whole shotgun metagenomic, and metatranscriptomic studies Includes clear-headed pointers and quick starts to direct research efforts and increase study efficacy, eschewing ponderous prose Presented topics include sample collection and preparation, data generation and quality control, third generation sequencing, advances in computational analyses of shotgun metagenomic sequence data, taxonomic profiling of shotgun data, hypothesis testing, and mathematical and computational analysis of longitudinal data and time series. Past-examples and prospects are provided to contextualize the applications.

Although we can't usually see them, microbes are essential for every part of human life-indeed all life on Earth. The emerging field of metagenomics offers a new way of exploring the microbial world that will transform modern microbiology and lead to practical applications in medicine, agriculture, alternative energy, environmental remediation, and many others areas. Metagenomics allows researchers to look at the genomes of all of the microbes in an environment at once, providing a "meta" view of the whole microbial community and the complex interactions within it. It's a quantum leap beyond traditional research techniques that rely on studying-one at a time-the few microbes that can be grown in the laboratory. At the request of the National Science Foundation, five Institutes of the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Energy, the National Research Council organized a committee to address the current state of metagenomics and identify obstacles current researchers are facing in order to determine how to best support the field and encourage its success. The New Science of Metagenomics recommends the establishment of a "Global Metagenomics Initiative" comprising a small number of large-scale metagenomics projects as well as many medium- and small-scale projects to advance the technology and develop the standard practices needed to advance the field. The report also addresses database needs, methodological challenges, and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in supporting this new field.

Microorganisms comprise the greatest genetic diversity in the natural ecosystem, and characterization of these microbes is an essential step towards discovering novel products or understanding complex biological mechanisms. The advancement of metagenomics coupled with the introduction of high-throughput, cost-effective NGS technology has expanded the possibilities of microbial research in various biological systems. In addition to traditional culture and biochemical characteristics, omics approaches (metagenomics, metaproteomics, and metatranscriptomics) are useful for analyzing complete microbial communities and their functional attributes in various environments. Metagenomics and Microbial Ecology: Techniques and Applications explores the most recent advances in metagenomics research in the landscape of next-generation sequencing technologies. This book also describes how advances in sequencing technologies are used to study invisible microbes as well as the relationships between microorganisms in their respective environments. Features: Covers a wide range of concepts, investigations, and technological advancement in metagenomics at the global level. Highlights the novel and recent approaches to analyze microbial diversity and its functional attributes. Features a range of chapters that present an introduction to the field and functional insight into various ecosystems.

Functional Metagenomics: Microbial Diversity, Interaction, and Application in Bioremediation uses a 20-chapter, easy-to-understand format to centralize the practical application ideas for functional metagenomics. This important resource not only includes chapters on next-generation sequencing technologies to study important biogeochemical cycles, degradation pathways and detoxification, but also gives insight into several tools that have been developed to integrate metadata and sequence data, allowing downstream comparative analyses of different datasets using several ecological indices.Content further explains the newly developed techniques for sequencing DNA; generating shorter fragments than Sanger sequencing techniques to quickly read larger sequences in a shorter amount of time. The content finally explores the role of metagenomics in studying microbial diversity, interaction and application in bioremediation studies and gives the reader overall detailed information regarding metagenomics, its application as well as techniques. Provides comprehensive information to readers on state-of-the-art applications in metagenomics Summarizes our current knowledge of the use of metagenomics and gives a novel and powerful insight into the already existing bioremediation process Gives an overall picture of metagenomics, its application, processes, and future prospects in the field of bioremediation

In this book, the latest tools available for functional metagenomics research are described.This research enables scientists to directly access the genomes from diverse microbial genomes at one time and study these “metagenomes”. Using the modern tools of genome sequencing and cloning, researchers have now been able to harness this astounding metagenomic diversity to understand and exploit the diverse functions of microorganisms. Leading scientists from around the world demonstrate how these approaches have been applied in many different settings, including aquatic and terrestrial habitats, microbiomes, and many more environments. This is a highly informative and carefully presented book, providing microbiologists with a summary of the latest functional metagenomics literature on all specific habitats.

Metagenomics: Perspectives, Methods, and Applications provides thorough coverage of the growing field of metagenomics. A diverse range of chapters from international experts offer an introduction to the field and examine methods for metagenomic analysis of microbiota, metagenomic computational tools, and recent metagenomic studies in various environments. The emphasis on application makes this text particularly useful for applied researchers, practitioners, clinicians and students seeking to employ metagenomic approaches to advance knowledge in the biomedical and life sciences. Case-study based application chapters examine topics ranging from viral metagenome profiling, metagenomics in oral disease and health, metagenomic insights into the human gut microbiome and metabolic syndromes, and more. Additionally, perspectives on future potential at the end of each chapter provoke new thought and motivations for continued study in this exciting and fruitful research area. Provides thorough coverage of the rapidly growing field of metagenomics, with an emphasis on applications of relevance to translational researchers, practitioners, clinicians and students Features a diverse range of chapters from international experts that offer an introduction to the field and examine methods for metagenomic analysis of microbiota, metagenomic computational tools and research pipelines Highlights perspectives on future potential at the end of each chapter to provoke new thought and motivations for continued study in this exciting and fruitful research area

This book is for the students starting their research projects in the field of metagenomics, for researchers interested in the new developments and applications in this field; and for teachers involved in teaching this subject. The book is divided into three sections as indicated from its title, namely; the basics of metagenomics, metagenomic analysis, and applications of metagenomics. It covers the basics of metagenomics from its history and background, to the analysis of metagenomic data as well as its recent applications in different fields. The book contains excellent texts at both the introductory and advanced levels, that describe the latest metagenomic approaches and applications, from sampling to data analysis for taxonomic, environmental, and medical studies. Finally, the publication of this book was an interesting journey for me and I hope the readers will enjoy reading it.

Metagenomics has taken off as one of the major cutting-edge fields of research. The field has broad implications for human health and disease, animal production, and environmental health. Metagenomics has opened up a wealth of data, tools, technologies and applications that allow us to access the majority of organisms that we still cannot access in pure culture (an estimated 99% of microbial life). Numerous research groups are developing tools, approaches and applications to deal with this new field, as larger data sets from environments including the human body, the oceans and soils are being generated. See for example the human microbiome initiative (HMP; http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/hmp/) which has become a world-wide effort, and the Global Ocean Sampling (GOS) surveys; http://www.jcvi.org/cms/research/projects/gos/overview/). The number of publications as measured through PubMed that are focused on metagenomics continues to increase. The field of metagenomics continues to evolve with large common datasets available to the scientific community. A concerted effort is needed to collate all this information in a centralized place. By having all the information in an Encyclopedia form, we have an opportunity to gather seminal contributions from the leaders in the field, and at the same time provide this information to a significant number of junior and senior scientists. It is anticipated that the Encyclopedia will also be used by many other groups including, clinicians, undergraduate and graduate level students, as well as ethical and legal groups associated with or interested in the issues surrounding metagenome science.