An Overview of Cultural, Molecular and Metagenomic Techniques in Description of Microbial Diversity
U. O. Edet, S. P. Antai, A. A. Brooks, A. D. Asitok, O. Enya, F. H. Japhet
Journal of Advances in Microbiology · pp. 1–19 · Published 19 Dec 2017
10.9734/JAMB/2017/37951Abstract
An Overview of Cultural, Molecular and Metagenomic Techniques in Description of Microbial Diversity Traditional microbiology based on the culture of microorganisms has been the mainstay of microbiology for over a century and has contributed immensely to what we now know about the harmful and beneficial roles of microorganisms. However, it has a number of limitations that has hampered the full utilization of the non-culturable majority in various ecosystems. Metagenomics is a technique that bypasses the need to culture microorganisms from various samples. Unarguably, it is one of the few powerful techniques that have revolutionized every aspect of molecular biology, microbiology, microbial ecology and even beyond. Although still in its infancy, metagenomics have far reaching applications already in medicine and health care, biotechnology, environmental microbiology, bioprospecting for new products of biological origin, discovery of functional genes, evolution, to mention just a few. The various steps involved in metagenomics from sampling to sequencing have all been shown to affect the overall diversity of the sampled ecosystem. An ideal methodology should be one that produces a fair representation of the community sampled. The rapid progress in sequencing technologies has forced its cost down per sample. This has lead to a drastic increase in the number of research projects using sequencing technologies, and databases that can store, analyse and allow retrieval of metagenomics data. With this pace of growth, we will certainly see many putative genes, proteins and pathways come alive, and also witness a number of paradigm shifts in some key concepts in traditional microbiology like taxonomy and microbial physiology.
Cited by 20
Amit Pratush, Xueying Ye, Qi Yang · Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology · 2020
Zrinka Ljubešić, Marija Gligora Udovič, Donata Overlingė · Frontiers in Marine Science · 2025
Evanthia Manthou, Gwendoline Coeuret, Stephane Chaillou · Food Microbiology · 2021
Ini Ubi Bassey, Uwem Okon Edet, Nikita Grace Umoafia · Scientific African · 2021
Kezia Drane, Roger Huerlimann, Michelle Power · Antibiotics · 2021
Uwem Okon Edet, Clement Meseko, Ini Bassey Ubi · Next Research · 2026
Justyna Szulc, Małgorzata Okrasa, Małgorzata Ryngajłło · Molecules · 2023
Shivam Mishra · Advancing Science and Innovation in Healthcare Research · 2025
Justyna Szulc, Małgorzata Okrasa, Katarzyna Majchrzycka · Journal of Environmental Management · 2022
Anika Ogemdi Chinwendu, Akin-Osanaiye Bukola Catherine, Edet Uwem Okon · Journal of microbiology, biotechnology and food sciences · 2021
Related research
- Comparison of Molecular Methods of Microbial Serotyping — shares topic coverage
- Bacterial Succession Studies during Fermentation of African Locust Bean (Parkia biglobosa) to Iru Using Molecular Methods — shares topic coverage
- An Improved Protocol for Extraction of Metagenomic DNA from High Humus, Alkaline and Saline Soil of Chinampa for T-RFLP Fingerprinting Analysis — shares topic coverage
- Comparative Bacterial Metagenomics of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius (Mill.) I. M. Johnston and Other Leafy Vegetables — shares topic coverage
- Microbiomes as Natural Allies: Towards Sustainable Farming Practices — shares topic coverage
Article metrics
Real usage data collected on this platform.
0
Page views
0
PDF downloads
0
Outbound clicks
20
Citations
Views by country
Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".
No views recorded yet.
Traffic sources
Referring site, by host.
No traffic recorded yet.
Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.