​Model of
Biology
APPLICATIONS
Biofuel: The process of creating biofuels is dependent upon microbial consortia, a process of transformation and fermentation. Metagenomic sequencing analyzes complex microbial communities to target screen enzymes for the production of biofuels. Metagenomic sequencing is a key tool to understand the functioning of microbial communities.
Agriculture: Functional metagenomic strategies are being developed to be used to explore the interactions between plants and microbes, done through the study of microbial communities. Metagenomics provides much valuable insight into the functional ecology and agriculture of enviromental communities. Such processes include DNA sequencing, in which species can be broadly identified.
Biotechnology: Many of the drugs used today were uncovered in microbes, discovered and developed thanks to metagenomics. The two types of analysis used in applying biotechnology to metagenomics includes two types of screenings: sequence-driven and function-driven. These different types of analysis help in examining DNA sequences, performing PCR experiments, and expressing desired traits when performing cloning.
MEDICINE: (Personalizing, Creating Medicine) Metagenomic sequencing is used to characterize the microbial communities within individuals. This helps determine human core microbiomes, how it affects human health, and to develop new bioinformatic and technological tools for health research. Metagenomic sequencing also helps characterize and study the depth of different types of bacteria. These studies may lead on to advancements in research for cures for diseases in order to sustain human life.