Chapter 17 discusses trends in biotechnology and the field of metagenomics. For your discussion post:
- Explain why metagenomics is probably the most revolutionary application of genomics. What application of genomics would best serve your community and why?
- Research Bioremediation as an application of metagenomics, and comment on how this mechanism can be utilized as an environmental management intervention within your community. Here are some videos to get you started:
1. Explain why metagenomics is probably the most revolutionary application of genomics.
As the textbook explains, metagenomics is the study of the collective genomes of multiple species that grow and interact in an environmental niche, and it can identify new species more rapidly and analyze the effect of pollutants on the environment (Clark, Choi & Douglas, 2020). Most microorganisms do not live as isolated entities, but in microbial communities or biofilms, and also the vast majority of bacterial species resist culturing in isolation, so there, metagenomics which can study the collective genomes of multiple species is probably the most revolutionary application of genomics (Clark, Choi & Douglas, 2020).
2. What application of genomics would best serve your community and why? Research Bioremediation as an application of metagenomics, and comment on how this mechanism can be utilized as an environmental management intervention within your community.
I chose the genomics of microorganisms to answer this question.
Environmental pollution caused by plastic products is a global problem, but my country is an island country surrounded by the sea on all sides and is directly affected by marine pollution. I will focus on biodegradable plastic in this discussion assignment.
Biodegradable polymers can be buried in the soil along with the plant remains in order to be decomposed by microorganisms after their use; therefore, it broadens the range of waste management treatment options over traditional plastics (Mostafa et al., 2018). Researchers found that biodegradable plastics based on cellulose acetate were decomposed in soil or water within a few years; also, the material can be recycled or incinerated without residue (Mostafa et al., 2018). Also, cellulosic raw materials used for biodegradable plastic are low cost and attractive for industrial (Mostafa et al., 2018).
This material is already used in some products in my country. An example is a PET bottle of drinking water. I was surprised and felt exciting when I knew this material when I was little. I believe this kind of genomics surely improves renewable resources.
References
Clark, M.A., Choi, J. & Douglas, M. (2020). Biology 2e. Open Stax. Retrieved from https://openstax.org/books/biology-2e/pages/preface
Mostafa, N. A., Farag, A. A., Abo-dief, H. M., & Tayeb, A. M. (2018). Production of biodegradable plastic from agricultural wastes. Arabian journal of chemistry, 11(4), 546-553. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878535215001100
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