Metagenomics and Microbial Communities
Jo Handelsman, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Published online: December 2007
DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0020367
Abstract
Metagenomics is the genomic analysis of microbial communities. This new science provides access to organisms that are recalcitrant
to culturing, as are the vast majority of microorganisms on Earth. Metagenomics thereby offers a first peek at the wide variety
of life that has never been studied, thus providing new insight into the structure and function of ecosystems as diverse as
the oceans and the human gastrointestinal tract.
Keywords: metagenomics; microbial ecology; microbial communities; unculturable; biotechnology
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