Metagenomic Analysis

Metagenomics offers an unbiased view into the microbial diversity of ecological niches including samples from host organisms and soil. Using shot-gun whole-genome sequencing data, reads are assembled into contigs and assigned to species or operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Identified species or OTUs are organized into a phylogeny and quantified. The functions brought about by individual genes or multi-gene pathways present in the sequenced community can be identified using public databases.