Long-read sequencing for metagenomics

As the field of microbiomics grows, the approaches with which to investigate these communities are expanding. One example of this is the trend away from the individual analysis of microbes extracted from samples to a more direct analysis of the whole community of microbes present in a sample, in an approach known as metagenomics. In part, the increasing popularity of this metagenomic approach to microbiomics is due to the evolution of more sophisticated long-read sequencing techniques, which offer an improved range of capabilities when compared to the previous standard of short-read sequencing.

This In Focus, supported by Zymo Research, explores the impact long-read sequencing techniques have had on the application of metagenomics in studies of the microbiome, detailing technological advances and the exciting new discoveries made as a result of these developments.