Metagenomics
Japanese: メタゲノミクス
A method that extracts and analyzes DNA from microbial communities in an environment without cultivation. Enables comprehensive study of microbial diversity in fermented foods and the gut.
Metagenomics is a method that extracts and analyzes all microbial DNA from an environment at once. Traditional microbiology required culturing microbes one species at a time, but more than 99% of microorganisms in nature reportedly cannot be cultured in the laboratory. Metagenomics is the technology that overcomes this barrier.
Miso mash, nuka beds, the inner walls of wooden barrels—what microorganisms are there and in what quantities? Metagenomics provides a comprehensive picture, like a census of microbes.
With next-generation sequencers driving costs down dramatically, applications in food science are expanding rapidly. However, knowing 'who is there' does not reveal 'what they are doing'—metagenomics alone cannot show this. Metatranscriptomics and metabolomics fill that gap.