Do the human gut metagenomic species possess the minimal set of core functionalities necessary for life?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Advances in bioinformatics recently allowed for the recovery of 'metagenomes assembled genomes' from human microbiome studies carried on with shotgun sequencing techniques. Such approach is used as a mean to discover new unclassified metagenomic species, putative biological entities having distinct metabolic traits.

Results

In the present analysis we compare 400 genomes from isolates available on NCBI database and 10,000 human gut metagenomic species, screening all of them for the presence of a minimal set of core functionalities necessary, but not sufficient, for life. As a result, the metagenome-assembled genomes resulted systematically depleted in genes encoding for essential functions apparently needed to support autonomous bacterial life.

Conclusions

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SUBMITTER: Soverini M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7525937 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature