Understanding the functional microbiota in saprophytic habitats based on integrated meta-omic technologies

Abstract:

Microbiota is widely distributed in natural habitats and considered as “Dark Matter” because its distribution and function cannot be revealed by traditional culture-dependent methods. With the rapid development of next-generation sequencing technologies and high resolution mass spectrometric techniques, we can rapidly analyze the composition and dynamic changes of microbiome without culturing, which marks the beginning of new era of studying “Dark Matter”, thus changing the status of microbiology research. As an important part of the biogeochemical cycle, saprophytic habitats have been widely concerned because of their ability to degrade organic wastes efficiently. However, the complex materials and environments hindered comprehensive studies on saprophytic habitats. With the advent of integrated meta-omic technologies, these problems could be addressed by analyzing diversity and dynamic succession of microbiota in saprophytic habitats. Therefore, based on the analysis of integrated meta-omic data and optimization of environmental parameters, we can learn about the dynamic changes and functions of microbiome, and then establish the green biotechnologies for efficient degradation of complex materials, which would promote the process of harmlessness and resource utilization of agricultural wastes.