Soil metagenomics: A tool for sustainable agriculture

Abstract

Microorganisms are considered as an unlimited, untapped, and intriguing source for development of novel genes, antibiotics, bioinoculants, biocatalysts, etc. Therefore, the identification and characterization of the microbial wealth becomes inevitable. Besides other features of bacteria that are a challenge to health, including increase in pathogenicity, antibiotic resistance, mounting host spectra, and possibility of usage for bioterrorism, it becomes a compulsion. Furthermore, a sustainable agriculture development program that frequently exploits the plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) also requires a correct identification and characterization of agriculturally important microorganisms. Metagenomics is defined as the study of all available genomes in an environment that contains considerably more genetic information than provided by the cultured subset. It also helps in bridging the gap between genetics and ecology, indicating that the genes of a single microorganism are connected to the genes of other members of the community.