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Genomic Encyclopedia of Bacteria and Archaea: Sequencing a Myriad of Type Strains

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Hans-Peter Klenk

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

Microbes hold the key to life. They hold the secrets to our past (as the descendants of the earliest forms of life) and the prospects for our future (as we mine their genes for solutions to some of the planet's most pressing problems, from global warming to antibiotic resistance). However, the piecemeal approach that has defined efforts to study microbial genetic diversity for over 20 years and in over 30,000 genome projects risks squandering that promise. These efforts have covered less than 20% of the diversity of the cultured archaeal and bacterial species, which represent just 15% of the overall known prokaryotic diversity. Here we call for the funding of a systematic effort to produce a comprehensive genomic catalog of all cultured Bacteria and Archaea by sequencing, where available, the type strain of each species with a validly published name (currently~11,000). This effort will provide an unprecedented level of coverage of our planet's genetic diversity, allow for the large-scale discovery of novel genes and functions, and lead to an improved understanding of microbial evolution and function in the environment.

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Author(s): Kyrpides NC, Hugenholtz P, Eisen JA, Woyke T, Goker M, Parker CT, Amann R, Beck BJ, Chain PSG, Chun J, Colwell RR, Danchin A, Dawyndt P, Dedeurwaerdere T, DeLong EF, Detter JC, DeVos P, Donohue TJ, Dong XZ, Ehrlich DS, Fraser C, Gibbs R, Gilbert J, Gilna P, Glockner FO, Jansson JK, Keasling JD, Knight R, Labeda D, Lapidus A, Lee JS, Li WJ, MA J, Markowitz V, Moore ERB, Morrison M, Meyer F, Nelson KE, Ohkuma M, Ouzounis CA, Pace N, Parkhill J, Qin N, Rossello-Mora R, Sikorski J, Smith D, Sogin M, Stevens R, Stingl U, Suzuki K, Taylor D, Tiedje JM, Tindall B, Wagner M, Weinstock G, Weissenbach J, White O, Wang J, Zhang L, Zhou YG, Field D, Whitman WB, Garrity GM, Klenk HP

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: PLoS Biology

Year: 2014

Volume: 12

Issue: 8

Online publication date: 05/08/2014

Date deposited: 17/03/2015

ISSN (electronic): 1545-7885

Publisher: Public Library of Science

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001920

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001920

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