Decoding the Microbial World: The Confluence of Artificial Intelligence and Metagenomics
In the past decade, we have seen a substantial leap forward in the sphere of microbial sciences. Our ability to understand the enigmatic microbial world has been vastly amplified by advancements in metagenomic data analysis.
Metagenomics is the study of genetic material collected directly from environmental samples. This research gives us a window into the diverse microbial communities inhabiting various ecosystems, from the human gut to the deepest ocean trenches. Traditional microbiology relies on isolating and culturing individual species, a method that cannot capture the full diversity of microbial life since many microbes are impossible to culture in the lab. Metagenomics bypasses this issue by sequencing all the DNA in a given sample, capturing a more comprehensive view of the microbial community.
In MARBLES' WP1, Wageningen University (WU) is mapping microbial taxonomic and biosynthetic biodiversity from marine habitats using metagenomic analysis and performing targeted isolation of high-potential microbes. Learn more about their work here.