Metagenomics: Challenges and Functional Applications

美国国家科学院（NAS）获得一项奖励，任命一个专门的国家研究委员会（NRC）委员会，以规划和评估宏基因组学的研究。宏基因组学描述了一个新兴领域，通过直接从环境样本中提取和克隆DNA来分析微生物的自然组合和群落。它有着巨大的希望，提出了许多技术和概念上的挑战，并且需要在国家和国际范围内协调研究人员和科学资助机构。该研究将包括：i)邀请宏基因组学领域的领导人与委员会举行会议，概述最重要的挑战，并就最需要协调的领域提供意见；Ii)邀请各相关领域的专家参加研讨会，以确定宏基因组学面临的最重要的基础设施和技术挑战，并探讨科学机构未来如何协调他们的努力；Iii)委员会的其他会议，以产生协商一致的报告。NAS报告将广泛分发给学术界、政府机构和立法者以及工业界。社会将受益于对最有前途的方向、基础设施需求和协调与合作领域的独立学术分析。通过了解病原体在环境中的持久性，以及在检测和监测生物威胁因子方面的挑战，宏基因组研究可能在生物防御背景下也很有用。

An award has been made to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to appoint an ad hoc National Research Council (NRC) committee for the purpose of planning and assessment of research in metagenomics. Metagenomics describes an emerging field to analyze natural assemblages and communities of microorganisms via extraction and cloning of DNA directly from environmental samples. It holds great promise, presents many technical and conceptual challenges and will require the coordination of researchers and scientific funding agencies on a national and international scale. The study will consist of: i) a meeting of invited leaders in the field of metagenomics with the committee to provide an overview of the most important challenges and input on where coordination is most needed; ii) a workshop with invited experts in various related areas to identify the most important infrastructural and technical challenges facing metagenomics and to explore how scientific agencies might coordinate their efforts in the future; iii) other meetings of the committee to produce a consensus report .The NAS report will be widely distributed to the academic community, governmental agencies and legislators, and industry. Society will benefit from an independent scholarly analysis of the most promising directions, infrastructure needs and areas of coordination and collaboration. Metagenomic studies are likely also to be useful in a biodefense context, through understanding of pathogen persistence in the environment, and the challenges in detecting and monitoring biological threat agents.