基于分子标记的宏基因组16S rRNA基因高变区选择策略

随着新一代DNA测序技术出现，人们能够同时对多个DNA样本的宏基因组进行并行分析，尤其是以16S rRNA基因高变区为分子标记的测序已经成为微生物多样性研究最为简洁有效的方法. 目前二代高通量测序的读长不能覆盖16S rRNA基因的全长，需要选择一个有效的高变区进行测序.十多年来，对于16S rRNA基因高变区的选择策略没有统一的标准.本文分析了常用的高变区选择策略，指出不同环境条件是影响高变区选择的重要因素之一.在此基础上，提出了高变区选择的参考准则，同时建议应对选择的高变区进行有效评估.

Strategy of selecting 16S rRNA hypervariable regions for matagenome-phylogenetic marker genes based analysis.

The advent of next generation sequencing technology enables parallel analysis of the whole microbial community from multiple samples. Particularly, sequencing 16S rRNA hypervariable tags has become the most efficient and cost effective method for assessing microbial diversity. Due to its short read length of the 2nd generation sequencing methods that cannot cover the full 16S rRNA genomic region, specific hypervariable regions or V-regions must be selected to act as the proxy. Over the past decade, selection of V-regions has not been consistent in assessing microbial diversity. Here we evaluated the current strategies of selecting 16S rRNA hypervariable regions for surveying microbial diversity. The environmental condition was considered as one of the important factors for selection of 16S rRNA hypervariable regions. We suggested that a pilot study to test different V-regions is required in bacterial diversity studies based on 16S rRNA genes.