The information science of microbial ecology. (June 2016) - Hahn, Aria S
Abstract : Highlights: Distributed microbial metabolic networks perform essential ecosystem functions. Next-generation sequencing data may reveal microbial solutions to human problems. 'Multi-omics' data will soon exceed local computational capacity. Cloud-computing promises scalable data storage and processing. Together 'multi-omics' data and cloud-computing enable insight into the microcosmos. Abstract : A revolution is unfolding in microbial ecology where petabytes of 'multi-omics' data are produced using next generation sequencing and mass spectrometry platforms. This cornucopia of biological information has enormous potential to reveal the hidden metabolic powers of microbial communities in natural and engineered ecosystems. However, to realize this potential, the development of new technologies and interpretative frameworks grounded in ecological design principles are needed to overcome computational and analytical bottlenecks. Here we explore the relationship between microbial ecology and information science in the era of cloud-based computation. We consider microorganisms as individual information processing units implementing a distributed metabolic algorithm and describe developments in ecoinformatics and ubiquitous computing with the potential to eliminate bottlenecks and empower knowledge creation and translation.