SHANGHAI, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and foreign researchers have successfully constructed a global microbial gene catalog, a significant step for worldwide microbiome studies.
Microorganisms are ubiquitous on Earth. They hide in human skin, intestines, soil, rivers, and oceans and form complex microbiome communities, which affect human health, disease development, and ecological changes on Earth.
Researchers from China, Germany, Spain, the United States, and Britain constructed the most comprehensive global microbial gene catalog to date from 13,174 publicly available metagenomes across 14 major habitats based on a global microbiome concept.
The study reveals that most genes are specific to a single habitat. The small gene fractions found in multiple habitats have antibiotic-resistance genes and markers for mobile genetic elements.
The global microbial gene catalog plays a vital role in exploring the relationship between microorganisms and human health, said Zhao Xingming. Zhao is the biomedical AI team leader from the Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University.
He added that based on the catalog, the research team would further study the impact of microbes on the human brain's cognition and behavior by cooperating with domestic and foreign research institutes and clinical medical institutions. Enditem
