Hildebrand Falk
Gut Microbes and Health, Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich, United Kingdom.
Digital Biology, Earlham Institute, Norwich, United Kingdom.
mSystems. 2021 Aug 31:e0088121. doi: 10.1128/mSystems.00881-21.
Technological advances in community sequencing have steadily increased the taxonomic resolution at which microbes can be delineated. In high-resolution metagenomics, bacterial strains can now be resolved, enhancing medical microbiology and the description of microbial evolution . In the Hildebrand lab, we are researching novel approaches to further increase the phylogenetic resolution of metagenomics. I propose that ultra-resolution metagenomics will be the next qualitative level of community sequencing, classified by the accurate resolution of ultra-rare genetic events, such as subclonal mutations present in all populations of evolving cells. This will be used to quantify evolutionary processes at ecologically relevant scales, monitor the progress of infections within a patient, and accurately track pathogens in food and infection chains. However, to develop this next metagenomic generation, we first need to understand the currently imposed limits of sequencing technologies, metagenomic strain delineation, and genome reconstructions.
群落测序技术的进步稳步提高了微生物分类分辨率，借此可描绘出微生物。在高分辨率宏基因组学中，现在能够分辨出细菌菌株，这促进了医学微生物学以及微生物进化的描述。在希尔德布兰德实验室，我们正在研究新方法以进一步提高宏基因组学的系统发育分辨率。我认为超分辨率宏基因组学将成为群落测序的下一个定性水平，其依据是能精确分辨超罕见遗传事件，比如在所有进化细胞群体中存在的亚克隆突变。这将用于在生态相关尺度上量化进化过程，监测患者体内感染的进展情况，并准确追踪食品和感染链中的病原体。然而，要开发这下一代宏基因组学，我们首先需要了解测序技术、宏基因组菌株划分和基因组重建目前所面临的限制。
