Question

1. What are the advantages and pitfalls of metagenomics, compared to culturing microbes?

2. What kinds of microbial metabolism are favored in aerated environments? In anoxic environments?

Please answer all of the questions and write neatly please. Thanks

Answer 1

Metagenomics includes the set of research techniques in a research field. It comprises of computational methods to enhance the understanding of genomic diversity.

In “pure culture paradigm, if multiple species are present that means the culture medium is contaminated and species which require certain metabolic products of other species cannot be detected and studied. The microorganisms which grow as single cells in liquid suspensions can be grown and well-studied but most of the microbes exist as colonies like biofilms that are hard to study and understand. Their environmental processes microbial bucket brigades of matter flux and energy flux cannot be understood by pure culture methods. Genomics or the study of sequences of the genome has not been enough. There is “great plate count anomaly” in case of bacteria producing colonies as they cannot grow in colonies in petri plates or test tubes. Metagenomics allow the study of microbial communities on their own surface or environment with all ecological interactions.

Pitfalls:

Metagenomics do not allow the interrogation of only “PCR amplified genes” like genetic fingerprinting. It does not provide information on genetic diversity beyond the genes being amplified.