Molecular techniques and their limitations shape our view of the holobiont

Date

2019-07-16

Authors

Cooke, Ira
Mead, Oliver
Whalen, Casey
Boote, Chloe
Moya, A.
Ying, Hua
Robbins, Steven J.
Strugnell, Jan M.
Darling, Aaron
Miller, David J.

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Urban & Fischer Verlag

Abstract

It is now recognised that the biology of almost any organism cannot be fully understood without recognising the existence and potential functional importance of associated microbes. Arguably, the emergence of this holistic viewpoint may never have occurred without the development of a crucial molecular technique, 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing, which allowed microbial communities to be easily profiled across a broad range of contexts. A diverse array of molecular techniques are now used to profile microbial communities, infer their evolutionary histories, visualise them in host tissues, and measure their molecular activity. In this review, we examine each of these categories of measurement and inference with a focus on the questions they make tractable, and the degree to which their capabilities and limitations shape our view of the holobiont.

Description

Keywords

Holobiont, Imaging, Metagenomic sequencing, Evolutionary inference, Model system, Multi-omics

Citation

Source

Zoology

Type

Journal article

Book Title

Entity type

Access Statement

License Rights

Restricted until

2037-12-31