Education

Education and outreach are key components of the CAMERA project since the metagenomics field is relatively new and is rapidly developing. To achieve this, CAMERA has developed the cyberinfrastructure necessary to support the data, tools and resources that are needed to enable the scientific community to use the rapidly growing treasure of metagenomic information. Of course, the optimum CI for progress will continue to advance. Success in using CI to meet the needs of the bioscience community will accelerate understanding of biology and deliver novel biological solutions to important societal challenges in health care, energy, and the environment.

The approaches and observations in metagenomics represents a major scientific revolution, which led a National Academy of Sciences study to call it a new science. For example, marine metagenomics is emerging as a focus for innovation at the interface of marine environmental science and information technology. Similar scientific dynamics arise from soil metagenomics and the study of host-based metagenomics or microbiomes. The pace of development and the power of gene sequencing for biological discovery are increasing rapidly with the application of shotgun sequencing technology to entire microbial communities. Unlike the traditional culture-based sequencing methods, metagenomics arises from a breakthrough sequencing approach to examine the interaction of countless microbial species present at a specific environmental location and offers tremendous potential to understand better the functioning of natural ecosystems. It is enabling scientists to consider each gene in the context of its ecology: the composition of the rest of the community, the environmental conditions in which it is found, and its relationships with other species with which it is found at other times and places.

Metagenomics Basics

metagenomics book

The National Academies of Science, following a study by leaders in the field, has published a great book "The New Science of Metagenomics: Revealing the Secrets of Our Microbial Planet." The full text is available for reading online or via a downloadable PDF (after sign in).

Understanding Our Microbial Planet: The New Science of Metagenomics, a 24 page booklet derived from the
aforementioned book, is also available for download.


Education Events Relevant to Metagenomics and CAMERA