A new book co-edited by Virginia Commonwealth University professor Maria Rivera, Ph.D., aims to provide guidance on the best practices for metagenomics—the application of high throughput technology for the direct sequencing and characterization of the genes and genomes present in complex microbial ecosystems like the human microbiome.

Rivera, a professor in the Department of Biology in the College of Humanities and Sciences, and co-editor Jacques Izard, Ph.D., of the Forsyth Institute and Harvard School of Dental Medicine, are both members of the Human Microbiome Project Consortium, which highlighted the importance of microbial communities that live in and on human bodies.

"These findings have the potential to change how we understand health and disease and how we practice medicine," Rivera said. "As a result, many scientist have begun to conduct microbiome studies with the goal of characterizing the role of microbiota in many complex human disorders, such as obesity and cardiovascular diseases."

The new book, "Metagenomics for Microbiology," published by Elsevier, provides resources for clinical and environmental microbiologists, molecular biologists, infectious disease experts, statisticians, biostatisticians and public health scientists.

"With contributions by leading researchers in the microbiome field, 'Metagenomics for Microbiology' provides the tools to help advance microbiome research," Rivera said.

Provided by Virginia Commonwealth University