Metagenomics is the study of
genetic material recovered directly from
environmental samples. The broad field may also be referred to as
environmental genomics,
ecogenomics or
community genomics. While traditional
microbiology and microbial
genome sequencing and
genomics rely upon cultivated
clonal cultures, early environmental gene sequencing cloned specific genes (often the
16S rRNA gene) to produce a profile of diversity in a natural sample. Such work revealed that the vast majority of
microbial biodiversity had been missed by cultivation-based methods. Recent studies use either "shotgun" or PCR directed sequencing to get largely unbiased samples of all genes from all the members of the sampled communities. Because of its ability to reveal the previously hidden diversity of microscopic life, metagenomics offers a powerful lens for viewing the microbial world that has the potential to revolutionize understanding of the entire living world. As the price of DNA sequencing continues to fall, metagenomics now allows
microbial ecology to be investigated at a much greater scale and detail than before.
