Obligate Symbionts and Other Intriguing Members of Human Microbiomes
Jill Banfield, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management
University of California, Berkeley
Watch via https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=45958
Jillian Banfield is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, with appointments in the Earth Science, Ecosystem Science and Materials Science and Engineering departments. She leads the Microbial Research initiative within the Innovative Genomics Institute, is affiliated with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and has a position at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Some of her most noted work includes publications on the structure and functioning of microbial communities and the nature, properties and reactivity (especially crystal growth) of nanomaterials.
Summary
From the speaker: "The application of cultivation independent genomics-based methods to human and animal microbiomes has uncovered bacteria from lineages not represented in culture collections and provided clues as to their metabolic capacities. There is now sufficient genomic sampling to begin to ask questions about how often bacteria from these groups migrate from the natural environment into human microbiomes, from where, what is involved in habitat transition and when metabolic changes occurred. Genome-resolved metagenomic methods have also revealed diverse clades of phages in human and animal microbiomes and provided clues as to how phages that use alternative genetic codes interact with their host bacteria. Overall, community genomic analyses provide a new dimension of understanding regarding human microbiome development, structure, and function."
CME Objectives:
(1) An understanding of genome-resolved metagenomic methods and what they can provide.
(2) Recognition of opportunities for new research on understudied microbiome members.
(3) Appreciation of the potentially dynamic nature of the genetic code.
This page was last updated on Thursday, September 8, 2022