Genomic Encyclopedia of Bacteria and Archaea: Sequencing a Myriad of Type Strains
Name
Kyrpides-2014-Genomic encyclopedia.pdf
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467.2 KB
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Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
05b98b0b8b96d17711e3f5eddf61b5d6
Author(s)
DeLong, Edward
Date Issued
August 2014
Journal
PLoS Biology
Publisher
Public Library of Science
Citation
Kyrpides, Nikos C., Philip Hugenholtz, Jonathan A. Eisen, Tanja Woyke, Markus Goker, Charles T. Parker, Rudolf Amann, et al. “Genomic Encyclopedia of Bacteria and Archaea: Sequencing a Myriad of Type Strains.” PLoS Biology 12, no. 8 (August 5, 2014): e1001920.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Microbes hold the key to life. They hold the secrets to our past (as the descendants of the earliest forms of life) and the prospects for our future (as we mine their genes for solutions to some of the planet's most pressing problems, from global warming to antibiotic resistance). However, the piecemeal approach that has defined efforts to study microbial genetic diversity for over 20 years and in over 30,000 genome projects risks squandering that promise. These efforts have covered less than 20% of the diversity of the cultured archaeal and bacterial species, which represent just 15% of the overall known prokaryotic diversity. Here we call for the funding of a systematic effort to produce a comprehensive genomic catalog of all cultured Bacteria and Archaea by sequencing, where available, the type strain of each species with a validly published name (currently~11,000). This effort will provide an unprecedented level of coverage of our planet's genetic diversity, allow for the large-scale discovery of novel genes and functions, and lead to an improved understanding of microbial evolution and function in the environment.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
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Creative Commons Attribution
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001920
