High-resolution metagenomics targets specific functional types in complex microbial communities

Published in:

Nature Biotechnology 26(9) , 1029-1034 (Sep 2008)

Author(s):

Kalyuzhnaya, M. G., Lapidus, A., Ivanova, N., Copeland, A. C., McHardy, A. C., Szeto, E., Salamov, A., Grigoriev, I. V., Suciu, D., Levine, S. R., Markowitz, V. M., Rigoutsos, I., Tringe, S. G., Bruce, D. C., Richardson, P. M., Lidstrom, M. E., Chistoserdova, L.

DOI:

Doi 10.1038/Nbt.1488

Abstract:

Most microbes in the biosphere remain unculturable(1). Whole genome shotgun (WGS) sequencing of environmental DNA (metagenomics) can be used to study the genetic and metabolic properties of natural microbial communities(2-4). However, in communities of high complexity, metagenomics fails to link specific microbes to specific ecological functions. To overcome this limitation, we developed a method to target microbial subpopulations by labeling DNA through stable isotope probing ( SIP), followed by WGS sequencing. Metagenome analysis of microbes from Lake Washington in Seattle that oxidize single-carbon (C(1)) compounds shows specific sequence enrichments in response to different C(1) substrates, revealing the ecological roles of individual phylotypes. We also demonstrate the utility of our approach by extracting a nearly complete genome of a novel methylotroph, Methylotenera mobilis, reconstructing its metabolism and conducting genome-wide analyses. This high-resolution, targeted metagenomics approach may be applicable to a wide variety of ecosystems.

View Publication

Abstract:

Share this: