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EcoFoldDB: Protein Structure-Guided Functional Profiling of Ecologically Relevant Microbial Traits at the Metagenome
Timothy M Ghaly1,2, Vaheesan Rajabal1,2, Dylan Russell1,2
1School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
EcoFoldDB uses protein structure to improve microbial gene function annotation in metagenomics. This new method enhances the discovery of microbial traits and ecological insights from environmental DNA.
Area of Science:
- Microbial Ecology
- Structural Bioinformatics
- Metagenomics
Background:
- Microbial communities are vital for ecosystem functions.
- Metagenomic sequencing reveals microbial community structure and function.
- Current methods struggle to annotate divergent microbial genes due to limited sensitivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce EcoFoldDB, a database of microbial protein structures for ecological traits.
- To present EcoFoldDB-annotate, a pipeline for rapid structural homology searching.
- To enhance functional profiling of metagenomes using protein structure.
Main Methods:
- Leveraged Foldseek and ProstT5 protein language model for structural homology searching.
- Developed EcoFoldDB database for ecologically relevant microbial traits.
- Applied EcoFoldDB-annotate to 32 million proteins from 8000 soil metagenomes.
Main Results:
- EcoFoldDB-annotate shows superior sensitivity and precision over sequence-based methods.
- Successfully resolved phylogenetic partitioning of nitrogen cycling pathways.
- Identified novel bacterial taxa with plant growth-promoting traits.
Conclusions:
- EcoFoldDB and its annotation pipeline significantly advance metagenomic functional profiling.
- Enables deeper ecological insights from environmental genomes.
- Accelerates discoveries in microbial ecology and planetary health.
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