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Updated: Apr 18, 2026

Microbiota Analysis Using Two-step PCR and Next-generation 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing
Published on: October 15, 2019
Where next for microbiome research?
Matthew K Waldor1, Gene Tyson2, Elhanan Borenstein3
1Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology Harvard Medical School and HHMI, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Abstract:
The development of high-throughput sequencing technologies has transformed our capacity to investigate the composition and dynamics of the microbial communities that populate diverse habitats. Over the past decade, these advances have yielded an avalanche of metagenomic data. The current stage of "van Leeuwenhoek"-like cataloguing, as well as functional analyses, will likely accelerate as DNA and RNA sequencing, plus protein and metabolic profiling capacities and computational tools, continue to improve. However, it is time to consider: what's next for microbiome research? The short pieces included here briefly consider the challenges and opportunities awaiting microbiome research.
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