overview of metagenomics for marine biodiversity research

We are in the midst of the fastest growing revolution in molecular biology,perhaps in all of life science, and it appears to be speeding up. We still know verylittle about the vast diversity of micro-organisms, their metabolic pathways andmicrobial activity in natural environments. Modern genomic tools are providingdeep access to natural microbial diversity and ecology. Interdisciplinary approacheswill be required to fully understand microbial ecology by: (1) analysis of genomes,transcriptomes, proteomes and metabolomes and (2) analysis at various levels ofindividuals, populations, communities and ecosystems. Data gathered is not onlytheoretical. It holds the promise of practical applications in the control of infectiousdiseases, in the production of biotechnology goods and services and in environmentalremediation. It is an incredibly exciting time in science for the newer generation ofscientists, “loaded” with opportunities. It is an excellent time to develop and applytools to solve problems of local and global importance.