Biotechnological genomics, including metagenomics

Biotechnological genomics, including metagenomics

(Teagasc)

Genomics is a branch of biotechnology which profiles the genes of an organism using DNA sequencing technologies and subsequently bioinformatics to assemble and ascertain the function and structure of entire genomes.  Advances in both sequencing and computational technologies have allowed the progression from single organism genomics to entire communities (i.e. metagenomes). Metagenomics is the study of genetic material recovered directly from environmental samples; modern genomic techniques allow the study of communities of microbial organisms without the need for isolation and lab cultivation. This allows for the observation of alterations in the metagenome at different states (e.g. disease vs. healthy).