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Challenges and Opportunities of Airborne Metagenomics

Recent metagenomic studies of environments, such as marine and soil, have significantly enhanced our understanding of the diverse microbial communities living in these habitats and their essential roles in sustaining vast ecosystems. The increase in the number of publications related to soil and mar...

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Autores principales: Behzad, Hayedeh, Gojobori, Takashi, Mineta, Katsuhiko
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Oxford University Press 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4453059/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25953766
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evv064
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author Behzad, Hayedeh
Gojobori, Takashi
Mineta, Katsuhiko
author_facet Behzad, Hayedeh
Gojobori, Takashi
Mineta, Katsuhiko
author_sort Behzad, Hayedeh
collection PubMed
description Recent metagenomic studies of environments, such as marine and soil, have significantly enhanced our understanding of the diverse microbial communities living in these habitats and their essential roles in sustaining vast ecosystems. The increase in the number of publications related to soil and marine metagenomics is in sharp contrast to those of air, yet airborne microbes are thought to have significant impacts on many aspects of our lives from their potential roles in atmospheric events such as cloud formation, precipitation, and atmospheric chemistry to their major impact on human health. In this review, we will discuss the current progress in airborne metagenomics, with a special focus on exploring the challenges and opportunities of undertaking such studies. The main challenges of conducting metagenomic studies of airborne microbes are as follows: 1) Low density of microorganisms in the air, 2) efficient retrieval of microorganisms from the air, 3) variability in airborne microbial community composition, 4) the lack of standardized protocols and methodologies, and 5) DNA sequencing and bioinformatics-related challenges. Overcoming these challenges could provide the groundwork for comprehensive analysis of airborne microbes and their potential impact on the atmosphere, global climate, and our health. Metagenomic studies offer a unique opportunity to examine viral and bacterial diversity in the air and monitor their spread locally or across the globe, including threats from pathogenic microorganisms. Airborne metagenomic studies could also lead to discoveries of novel genes and metabolic pathways relevant to meteorological and industrial applications, environmental bioremediation, and biogeochemical cycles.
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spelling pubmed-44530592015-06-10 Challenges and Opportunities of Airborne Metagenomics Behzad, Hayedeh Gojobori, Takashi Mineta, Katsuhiko Genome Biol Evol Invited Review Recent metagenomic studies of environments, such as marine and soil, have significantly enhanced our understanding of the diverse microbial communities living in these habitats and their essential roles in sustaining vast ecosystems. The increase in the number of publications related to soil and marine metagenomics is in sharp contrast to those of air, yet airborne microbes are thought to have significant impacts on many aspects of our lives from their potential roles in atmospheric events such as cloud formation, precipitation, and atmospheric chemistry to their major impact on human health. In this review, we will discuss the current progress in airborne metagenomics, with a special focus on exploring the challenges and opportunities of undertaking such studies. The main challenges of conducting metagenomic studies of airborne microbes are as follows: 1) Low density of microorganisms in the air, 2) efficient retrieval of microorganisms from the air, 3) variability in airborne microbial community composition, 4) the lack of standardized protocols and methodologies, and 5) DNA sequencing and bioinformatics-related challenges. Overcoming these challenges could provide the groundwork for comprehensive analysis of airborne microbes and their potential impact on the atmosphere, global climate, and our health. Metagenomic studies offer a unique opportunity to examine viral and bacterial diversity in the air and monitor their spread locally or across the globe, including threats from pathogenic microorganisms. Airborne metagenomic studies could also lead to discoveries of novel genes and metabolic pathways relevant to meteorological and industrial applications, environmental bioremediation, and biogeochemical cycles. Oxford University Press 2015-05-06 /pmc/articles/PMC4453059/ /pubmed/25953766 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evv064 Text en © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com
spellingShingle Invited Review
Behzad, Hayedeh
Gojobori, Takashi
Mineta, Katsuhiko
Challenges and Opportunities of Airborne Metagenomics
title Challenges and Opportunities of Airborne Metagenomics
title_full Challenges and Opportunities of Airborne Metagenomics
title_fullStr Challenges and Opportunities of Airborne Metagenomics
title_full_unstemmed Challenges and Opportunities of Airborne Metagenomics
title_short Challenges and Opportunities of Airborne Metagenomics
title_sort challenges and opportunities of airborne metagenomics
topic Invited Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4453059/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25953766
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evv064
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