EAGER-NEON: Collaborative Research: Formation of a NEON Microbial Metagenomics Data Synthesis Working Group

该合作项目的目标是提高分析国家生态观测网络（氖）微生物宏基因组数据集的能力。 微生物宏基因组学是通过样品中存在的基因来表征微生物群落的方法，对于充分理解微生物过程非常重要。这一项目将提高科学界描述微生物群落特性的比较分析能力，从而使生物和地球科学数据能够更好地与目前的其他地球系统观测工作相结合。这些改进的分析工具将有助于以更全面的方式在环境因素、生物地球化学过程和微生物生态系统结构和功能之间建立更好的相互联系。该项目将设立一个综合工作组，收集社区意见，用于指导网络基础设施和生物信息学工具的开发，并回答氖微生物宏基因组学数据集的基本问题。该合作项目将形成并协调一个综合工作组，以分析和整合氖宏基因组数据，与其他并行地球系统观测工作EarthCube和临界区观测站合作，利用正在开发的生物信息学和网络基础设施工具进行宏基因组数据。合成工作组将通过以下方式促进科学进步：1）促进形成一个多样化的团队，以告知和利用氖微生物宏基因组数据，2）探索使用现有和新的生物信息学和网络基础设施工具合成氖宏基因组数据的策略，3）通过与多个现有和开发中的开放数据档案集成来合成氖宏基因组数据集。该项目将实现目前无法充分综合的比较，这对于评估微生物生态系统的可持续性和弹性以及这些微生物群落在支持关键生态系统服务方面的功能是必要的。该项目将通过有针对性的科学宣传活动和科学界的参与，包括将氖与其他地球系统观测工作相结合，促进氖数据产品的广泛科学传播、使用和相互比较。

The goal of this collaborative project is to enhance the ability to analyze microbial metagenomics datasets of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). Microbial metagenomics, the characterization of microbial communities by the genes present in the sample, is important for fully understanding microbial processes. This project will enhance the comparative analytical capabilities available to the scientific community for describing properties of microbial communities, which will enable better integration of biological and geoscience data with other current earth-systems observing efforts. These improved analytic tools will facilitate developing better interconnections between environmental factors, biogeochemical processes, and microbial ecosystem structure and function in a more holistic fashion. The project will establish a Synthesis Working Group that will collect community input for guiding cyber-infrastructure and bioinformatics tool development and for answering fundamental questions with the NEON microbial metagenomics data sets. This collaborative project will form and coordinate a Synthesis Working Group for analysis and integration of NEON metagenomics data, leveraging ongoing development of bioinformatics and cyber-infrastructure tools for metagenomic data in partnership with other concurrent earth-systems observing efforts EarthCube and Critical Zone Observatories. The Synthesis Working Group will enhance scientific advancement by 1) facilitating formation of a diverse team to inform and utilize NEON microbial metagenomic data, 2) exploring strategies for synthesis of NEON metagenomic data using existing and new bioinformatics and cyberinfrastructure tools, and 3) synthesizing NEON metagenomic datasets via integration with multiple existing and developing open data archives. This project will enable comparisons that cannot be adequately synthesized today, which is necessary for evaluating the sustainability and resilience of microbial ecosystems, as well as the function of these microbial communities in supporting key ecosystem services. The project will engender broad scientific dissemination, use, and intercomparison of NEON data products through targeted scientific outreach activities and engagement of the scientific community, including integration of NEON with other earth-systems observing efforts.