Title:Combining “Omics” Strategies to Analyze the Biotechnological Potential of Complex Microbial Environments
Volume: 14
Issue: 6
Author(s): Alinne Pereira de Castro, Maria Regina Silveira Sartori da Silva, Betania Ferraz Quirino and Ricardo Henrique Kruger
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Metagenome, metaproteome, metatranscriptome and microbial diversity.
Abstract: It is well established in the scientific literature that only a small fraction of microorganisms can be cultured by
conventional microbiology methods. The ever cheaper and faster DNA sequencing methods, together with advances in
bioinformatics, have improved our understanding of the structure and functional behavior of microbial communities in
many complex environments. However, the metagenomics approach alone cannot elucidate the functionality of all microorganisms,
because a vast number of potentially new genes have no homologs in public databases. Metatranscriptomics
and metaproteomics are approaches based on different techniques and have recently emerged as promising techniques to
describe microbial activities within a given environment at the molecular level. In this review, we will discuss current developments
and applications of metagenomics, metatranscriptomics and metaproteomics, and their limitations in the study
of microbial communities. The combined analysis of genes, mRNA and protein in complex microbial environments will
be key to identify novel biological molecules for biotechnological purposes.
