A communal catalogue reveals Earth's multiscale microbial diversity

Our growing awareness of the microbial world's importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies,...

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Published in:Nature
Main Authors: Thompson, Luke R., Sanders, Jon G., McDonald, Daniel, Amir, Amnon, Ladau, Joshua, Locey, Kenneth J., Prill, Robert J., Tripathi, Anupriya, Gibbons, Sean M., Ackermann, Gail, Navas Molina, Jose A., Janssen, Stefan, Kopylova, Evguenia, Vázquez Baeza, Yoshiki, González, Antonio, Morton, James T., Mirarab, Siavash, Xu, Zhenjiang Zech, Jiang, Lingjing, Haroon, Mohamed F., Kanbar, Jad, Zhu, Qiyun, Song, Se Jin, Kosciolek, Tomasz, Bokulich, Nicholas A., Lefler, Joshua, Brislawn, Colin J., Humphrey, Gregory, Owens, Sarah M., Hampton Marcell, Jarrad, Berg Lyons, Donna, McKenzie, Valerie, Fierer, Noah, Fuhrman, Jed A., Clauset, Aaron, Stevens, Rick L., Shade, Ashley, Pollard, Katherine S., Goodwin, Kelly D., Jansson, Janet K., Gilbert, Jack A., Knight, Rob, Dionisi, Hebe Monica, Lozada, Mariana, Mac Cormack, Walter Patricio
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Nature Publishing Group
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Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/65846
Description
Summary:Our growing awareness of the microbial world's importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth's microbial diversity. Fil: Thompson, Luke R. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos. University of Southern Mississippi; Estados Unidos. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Estados Unidos Fil: Sanders, Jon G. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: McDonald, Daniel. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Amir, Amnon. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Ladau, Joshua. University of California San Francisco; Estados Unidos Fil: Locey, Kenneth J. Indiana University; Estados Unidos Fil: Prill, Robert J. IBM Almaden Research Center; Estados Unidos Fil: Tripathi, Anupriya. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Gibbons, Sean M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Estados Unidos Fil: Ackermann, Gail. University of California San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Navas Molina, Jose A. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Janssen, Stefan. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Kopylova, Evguenia. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Vázquez Baeza, Yoshiki. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: González, Antonio. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Morton, James T. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Mirarab, Siavash. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Xu, Zhenjiang Zech. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Jiang, Lingjing. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Haroon, Mohamed F. Harvard University; Estados Unidos Fil: Kanbar, Jad. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Zhu, Qiyun. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Song, Se Jin. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Kosciolek, Tomasz. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Bokulich, Nicholas A. Northern Arizona University; Estados Unidos Fil: Lefler, Joshua. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Brislawn, Colin J. Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate; Estados Unidos Fil: Humphrey, Gregory. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Owens, Sarah M. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Hampton Marcell, Jarrad. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos. University of Illinois at Chicago; Estados Unidos Fil: Berg Lyons, Donna. University of Colorado; Estados Unidos Fil: McKenzie, Valerie. University of Colorado; Estados Unidos Fil: Fierer, Noah. University of Colorado; Estados Unidos Fil: Fuhrman, Jed A. University of Colorado; Estados Unidos Fil: Clauset, Aaron. University of Colorado; Estados Unidos Fil: Stevens, Rick L. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos. University of Chicago; Estados Unidos Fil: Shade, Ashley. Michigan State University; Estados Unidos Fil: Pollard, Katherine S. The Gladstone Institutes; Estados Unidos. University of California San Francisco; Estados Unidos Fil: Goodwin, Kelly D. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Estados Unidos Fil: Jansson, Janet K. Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate; Estados Unidos Fil: Gilbert, Jack A. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos. University of Chicago; Estados Unidos Fil: Knight, Rob. University of California San Diego; Estados Unidos Fil: Dionisi, Hebe Monica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; Argentina Fil: Lozada, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; Argentina Fil: Mac Cormack, Walter Patricio. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio Interno y Culto. Dirección Nacional del Antártico. Instituto Antártico Argentino; Argentina