Illuminating the microbial world using genome-based fluorescence microscopy

我们对地球上微生物多样性的理解已经从根本上改变了自然生态系统的宏基因组特征。用于可视化微生物群落的传统方法是耗时的，并且提供关于特定微生物的身份的有限信息。拟议的研究旨在将联合收割机单细胞基因组学和超分辨率显微镜结合起来，用于新型、高通量、基于基因组的技术，以可视化具有菌株水平特异性的微生物、质粒和病毒。这些高度可扩展的方法的应用将为环境和生物技术重要的微生物群落的精细尺度动态和进化提供全面和前所未有的见解。

Our understanding of microbial diversity on Earth has been fundamentally changed by metagenomic characterisation of natural ecosystems. Traditional approaches for visualising microbial communities are time-consuming and provide limited information about the identity of specific microorganisms. The proposed research aims to combine single cell genomics and super resolution microscopy for novel, high-throughput, genome-based techniques to visualise microorganisms, plasmids and viruses, with strain level specificity. The application of these highly scalable approaches will provide comprehensive and unprecedented insight into the fine-scale dynamics and evolution of environmentally and biotechnologically important microbial communities.