A glimpse into the gut microbiome: A metagenomic approach

Abstract

For many years, microorganisms research has been limited by the conventional analyzing technique of lab cultivation. Many strains of microorganisms are uncultivable under lab conditions, outside of their native environment. Thanks to the advances in modern computing and advances in genome sequencing technology, such an enormous challenge was finally conquered by metagenomics technology. Metagenomics can be best described as a genome-based analyzing method that extracts all genome data from a particular sample. Since metagenomic technology’s introduction in 1998, this particular field of study has progressed a long way since then. The metagenomic technology has allowed us to perform previously unthinkable ecological analysis at an unprecedented detail and magnitude. This review focuses on the implementation of metagenomic technology in the context of human gut microbiome research. For long, human gut microbiomes research was hindered by the lab cultivation method, and many organisms that reside in our gut could not be identified because they do not grow outside of the human. The invention of metagenomics revolutionized the standard research method of human gut microorganisms; in large, even replaced the once-common method of lab cultivation. This review aims to discuss various bioinformatics and analytical methods that can be employed when performing metagenomic analysis on human gut microbiomes, and metagenomics’ potential use in harvesting the power of our gut microbiomes. This paper invites readers to join us on this complex yet rewarding journey to harvest the power within our gut.