Abstract
The majority of microorganisms on Earth are unculturable and their functions are almost unknown. Whereas metagenomics has enabled us to comprehensively capture genome fragments in an unculturable microbial community, the functions of individual members of the microbiota remain unidentified. Recently, an innovative technology, whole genome amplification, has emerged, and now one can obtain the complete genome of an uncultured bacterial species from a small number of cells. Furthermore, even from a single bacterial cell, one can reconstruct a draft genome by single cell genomics. In this review, I introduce the methodology to analyze the genome of uncultured microbes, using termite gut bacterial community as an example. I also outline the current status of single cell genomics and describe perspectives for exploiting unculturable microbes as genetic resources.
