Opportunities and challenges of using metagenomic data to bring uncultured microbes into cultivation

Although there is now an extensive understanding of the diversity of microbial life on earth through culture-independent metagenomic DNA sequence analyses, the isolation and cultivation of microbes remains critical to directly study them and confirm their metabolic and physiological functions, and their ecological roles. The majority of environmental microbes are as yet uncultured however; therefore, bringing these rare or poorly characterized groups into culture is a priority to further understand microbiome functions. Moreover, cultivated isolates may find utility in a range of applications, such as new probiotics, biocontrol agents, and agents for industrial processes. The growing abundance of metagenomic…

• CA
  Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

  Awards: CAAS-ZDXT2019004, ASTIP-IAS12
• AS
  Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program

  Awards: CAAS-ZDXT2019004, ASTIP-IAS12