IMG/M: a data management and analysis system for metagenomes

IMG/M is a data management and analysis system for microbial community genomes (metagenomes) hosted at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI). IMG/M consists of metagenome data integrated with isolate microbial genomes from the Integrated Microbial Genomes (IMG) system. IMG/M provides IMG's comparative data analysis tools extended to handle metagenome data, together with metagenome-specific analysis tools. IMG/M is available at http://img.jgi.doe.gov/

IMG/M: the integrated metagenome data management and comparative analysis system

The integrated microbial genomes and metagenomes (IMG/M) system provides support for comparative analysis of microbial community aggregate genomes (metagenomes) in a comprehensive integrated context. IMG/M integrates metagenome data sets with isolate microbial genomes from the IMG system. IMG/M’s data content and analytical capabilities have been extended through regular updates since its first release in 2007. IMG/M is available at http://img.jgi.doe.gov/m. A companion IMG/M systems provide support for annotation and expert review of unpublished metagenomic data sets (IMG/M ER: http://img.jgi.doe.gov/mer)

IMG/M: the integrated metagenome data management and comparative analysis system

The integrated microbial genomes and metagenomes (IMG/M) system provides support for comparative analysis of microbial community aggregate genomes (metagenomes) in a comprehensive integrated context. IMG/M integrates metagenome data sets with isolate microbial genomes from the IMG system. IMG/M's data content and analytical capabilities have been extended through regular updates since its first release in 2007. IMG/M is available at http://img.jgi.doe.gov/m. A companion IMG/M systems provide support for annotation and expert review of unpublished metagenomic data sets (IMG/M ER: http://img.jgi.doe.gov/mer)

The integrated microbial genomes (IMG) system

The integrated microbial genomes (IMG) system is a new data management and analysis platform for microbial genomes provided by the Joint Genome Institute (JGI). IMG contains both draft and complete JGI genomes integrated with other publicly available microbial genomes of all three domains of life. IMG provides tools and viewers for analyzing genomes, genes and functions, individually or in a comparative context. IMG allows users to focus their analysis on subsets of genes and genomes of interest and to save the results of their analysis. IMG is available at

The integrated microbial genomes (IMG) system in 2007: data content and analysis tool extensions

The integrated microbial genomes (IMG) system is a data management, analysis and annotation platform for all publicly available genomes. IMG contains both draft and complete JGI microbial genomes integrated with all other publicly available genomes from all three domains of life, together with a large number of plasmids and viruses. IMG provides tools and viewers for analyzing and annotating genomes, genes and functions, individually or in a comparative context. Since its first release in 2005, IMG's data content and analytical capabilities have been constantly expanded through quarterly releases. IMG is provided by the DOE-Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and is available from http://img.jgi.doe.gov

Gene Context Analysis in the Integrated Microbial Genomes (IMG) Data Management System

Computational methods for determining the function of genes in newly sequenced genomes have been traditionally based on sequence similarity to genes whose function has been identified experimentally. Function prediction methods can be extended using gene context analysis approaches such as examining the conservation of chromosomal gene clusters, gene fusion events and co-occurrence profiles across genomes. Context analysis is based on the observation that functionally related genes are often having similar gene context and relies on the identification of such events across phylogenetically diverse collection of genomes. We have used the data management system of the Integrated Microbial Genomes (IMG) as the framework to implement and explore the power of gene context analysis methods because it provides one of the largest available genome integrations. Visualization and search tools to facilitate gene context analysis have been developed and applied across all publicly available archaeal and bacterial genomes in IMG. These computations are now maintained as part of IMG's regular genome content update cycle. IMG is available at: http://img.jgi.doe.gov

Shotgun metagenomic analysis of microbial communities from the Loxahatchee nature preserve in the Florida Everglades.

BackgroundCurrently, much is unknown about the taxonomic diversity and the mechanisms of methane metabolism in the Florida Everglades ecosystem. The Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is a section of the Florida Everglades that is almost entirely unstudied in regard to taxonomic profiling. This short report analyzes the metagenome of soil samples from this Refuge to investigate the predominant taxa, as well as the abundance of genes involved in environmentally significant metabolic pathways related to methane production (nitrogen fixation and dissimilatory sulfite reduction).MethodsShotgun metagenomic sequencing using the Illumina platform was performed on 17 soil samples from four different sites within the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, and underwent quality control, assembly, and annotation. The soil from each sample was tested for water content and concentrations of organic carbon and nitrogen.ResultsThe three most common phyla of bacteria for every site were Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Proteobacteria; however, there was variation in relative phylum composition. The most common phylum of Archaea was Euryarchaeota for all sites. Alpha and beta diversity analyses indicated significant congruity in taxonomic diversity in most samples from Sites 1, 3, and 4 and negligible congruity between Site 2 and the other sites. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing revealed the presence of biogeochemical biomarkers of particular interest (e.g., mrcA, nifH, and dsrB) within the samples. The normalized abundances of mcrA, nifH, and dsrB exhibited a positive correlation with nitrogen concentration and water content, and a negative correlation with organic carbon concentration.ConclusionThis Everglades soil metagenomic study allowed examination of wetlands biological processes and showed expected correlations between measured organic constituents and prokaryotic gene frequency. Additionally, the taxonomic profile generated gives a basis for the diversity of prokaryotic microbial life throughout the Everglades

Complementary Metagenomic Approaches Improve Reconstruction of Microbial Diversity in a Forest Soil.

Soil ecosystems harbor diverse microorganisms and yet remain only partially characterized as neither single-cell sequencing nor whole-community sequencing offers a complete picture of these complex communities. Thus, the genetic and metabolic potential of this "uncultivated majority" remains underexplored. To address these challenges, we applied a pooled-cell-sorting-based mini-metagenomics approach and compared the results to bulk metagenomics. Informatic binning of these data produced 200 mini-metagenome assembled genomes (sorted-MAGs) and 29 bulk metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs). The sorted and bulk MAGs increased the known phylogenetic diversity of soil taxa by 7.2% with respect to the Joint Genome Institute IMG/M database and showed clade-specific sequence recruitment patterns across diverse terrestrial soil metagenomes. Additionally, sorted-MAGs expanded the rare biosphere not captured through MAGs from bulk sequences, exemplified through phylogenetic and functional analyses of members of the phylum Bacteroidetes Analysis of 67 Bacteroidetes sorted-MAGs showed conserved patterns of carbon metabolism across four clades. These results indicate that mini-metagenomics enables genome-resolved investigation of predicted metabolism and demonstrates the utility of combining metagenomics methods to tap into the diversity of heterogeneous microbial assemblages.IMPORTANCE Microbial ecologists have historically used cultivation-based approaches as well as amplicon sequencing and shotgun metagenomics to characterize microbial diversity in soil. However, challenges persist in the study of microbial diversity, including the recalcitrance of the majority of microorganisms to laboratory cultivation and limited sequence assembly from highly complex samples. The uncultivated majority thus remains a reservoir of untapped genetic diversity. To address some of the challenges associated with bulk metagenomics as well as low throughput of single-cell genomics, we applied flow cytometry-enabled mini-metagenomics to capture expanded microbial diversity from forest soil and compare it to soil bulk metagenomics. Our resulting data from this pooled-cell sorting approach combined with bulk metagenomics revealed increased phylogenetic diversity through novel soil taxa and rare biosphere members. In-depth analysis of genomes within the highly represented Bacteroidetes phylum provided insights into conserved and clade-specific patterns of carbon metabolism

Untangling the Genetic Basis of Fibrolytic Specialization by Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae in Diverse Gut Communities

The Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae are two of the most abundant families from the order Clostridiales found in the mammalian gut environment, and have been associated with the maintenance of gut health. While they are both diverse groups, they share a common role as active plant degraders. By comparing the genomes of the Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae with the Clostridiaceae, a more commonly free-living group, we identify key carbohydrate-active enzymes, sugar transport mechanisms, and metabolic pathways that distinguish these two commensal groups as specialists for the degradation of complex plant material