Excerpt

On June 12 and 13, 2012, the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM’s) Forum on Microbial Threats convened a public workshop in Washington, DC, to discuss the scientific tools and approaches being used for detecting and characterizing microbial species, and the roles of microbial genomics and metagenomics to better understand the culturable and unculturable microbial world around us. Through invited presentations and discussions, participants examined the use of microbial genomics to explore the diversity, evolution, and adaptation of microorganisms in a wide variety of environments; the molecular mechanisms of disease emergence and epidemiology; and the ways that genomic technologies are being applied to disease outbreak trace back and microbial surveillance. Points that were emphasized by many participants included the need to develop robust standardized sampling protocols, the importance of having the appropriate metadata (e.g., the sequencing platform used, sampling information, culture conditions), data analysis and data management challenges, and information sharing in real time.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR A WORKSHOP ON THE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS OF MICROBIAL GENOMICS
• FORUM ON MICROBIAL THREATS
• BOARD ON GLOBAL HEALTH
• Reviewers
• Acknowledgments
• Workshop Overview
  • THE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS OF MICROBIAL GENOMICS: PREDICTING, DETECTING, AND TRACKING NOVELTY IN THE MICROBIAL WORLD
  • GLIMPSES OF THE MICROBIAL WORLD
  • THE CULTIVATION BOTTLENECK, GENOMICS, AND THE UNIVERSAL TREE OF LIFE
  • SEQUENCE-BASED DETECTION AND DISCOVERY
  • MICROBIOLOGY IN THE POST-GENOMIC ERA
  • USE OF WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING IN OUTBREAK INVESTIGATIONS
  • METAGENOMICS
  • PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF GENOMIC TECHNOLOGIES
  • WORKSHOP OVERVIEW REFERENCES
• Appendixes
  • Appendix A Contributed Manuscripts
  • Appendix B Agenda
  • Appendix C Acronyms
  • Appendix D Glossary
  • Appendix E Speaker Biographies

Rapporteurs: Eileen R. Choffnes, LeighAnne Olsen, Theresa Wizemann

Financial support for this project was provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration; U.S. Department of Defense, Department of the Army: Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System, Medical Research and Materiel Command, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; U.S. Department of Homeland Security; U.S. Agency for International Development; Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences; the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, American Society for Microbiology; sanofi pasteur; Burroughs Wellcome Fund; GlaxoSmithKline; Infectious Diseases Society of America; and the Merck Company Foundation.

Suggested citation:

IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2013. The Science and Applications of Microbial Genomics: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

The views presented in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.