Workshop: Single Cell Alternatives to Metagenomics in Environmental Microbiology to be held in West Boothbay Harbor, Maine on September 9-11, 2007

迄今为止，环境中微生物群落的大多数分子研究都使用基于PCR（聚合酶链反应-DNA倍增程序）或基于克隆（DNA分子的精确复制品的多个拷贝）文库的方法来表征这些微生物。 这些方法对于我们理解地球上微生物多样性的广度非常宝贵。 然而，由于这些方法依赖于从环境中大量制备DNA，因此这些方法消除了研究社区中细胞间个体性的任何能力。 正是这种细胞与细胞的变异性对于理解自然界中控制微生物群落的基本特性非常重要，并且在种群动态，微生物生态学和微生物进化中也很重要。 本研讨会的重点是使用流式细胞仪（高精度，控制流量仪器，用于分选微米大小的物体），从自然沃茨中分选细胞。 然后可以对这些单个分选细胞的基因组进行测序和注释，从而得到完全表征的单细胞基因组。该研讨会是一个为期4天的密集实践方法培训教程，加上该领域领导人的研讨会，以建立所需的概念框架，以便可以使用研讨会上教授的技术提出科学问题。

To date, most molecular studies of microbial communities in the environment have used PCR (polymerase chain reaction - a DNA multiplication procedure)-based or clone (multiple copies of exact replicas of a DNA molecule) library-based method to characterize these microorganisms. These approaches have been invaluable in our understanding of the breadth of the diversity of microorganisms on the planet. However, because these rely on bulk preparation of DNA from the environment, these approaches eliminate any ability to study cell to cell individuality in the community. It is this cell to cell variability that is important in understanding the fundamental properties that govern microbial communities in nature and are important in population dynamics, microbial ecology and microbial evolution. This workshop focuses on the use of flow cytometry (highly precise, controlled flow instruments for sorting micrometer-sized objects) to sort cells from natural waters. The genomes of these individual, sorted cells can then be sequenced and annotated so that fully characterized genomes of single cells result. This workshop is an intensive 4-day tutorial of hands-on methods training coupled with seminars by leaders in the field to build the conceptual framework needed so that scientific questions can be asked using the techniques taught at the workshop.