Metagenomics approaches in systems microbiology |
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| Authors: | José M. Vieites,Marí a-Eugenia Guazzaroni,Ana Beloqui,Peter N. Golyshin,& Manuel Ferrer |
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| Affiliation: | CSIC, Institute of Catalysis, Madrid, Spain;;CSIC, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Granada, Spain;;Environmental Microbiology Laboratory, HZI-Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany;;School of Biological Sciences, Bangor University, Gwynedd, UK;and;Centre for Integrated Research in the Rural Environment, Aberystwyth University-Bangor University Partnership (CIRRE), Aberystwyth, UK |
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| Abstract: | The world of microorganisms comprises a vast diversity of live organisms, each with its individual set of genes, cellular components and metabolic reactions that interact within the cell and communicate with the environment in many different ways. There is a strong imperative to gain a broader view of the wired and interconnected cellular and environmental processes as a whole via the systems microbiology approach in order to understand and predict ecosystem functioning. On the other hand, currently we experience a rise of metagenomics as an emerging tool to study communities of uncultured microorganisms. In this review, we conducted a survey of important methodologies in metagenomics and describe systems microbiology-like approaches for gaining a mechanistic understanding of complex microbial systems to interrogate compositional, evolutionary and metabolic properties. The review also discusses how metagenomics can be used as a holistic indicator for ecosystem response in terms of matter, nutrient and energy sources and functional networking. |
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| Keywords: | systems microbiology systems biology metagenomics functional networks ecosystem functioning microbial communities |
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