Metagenomics and Drug-Discovery

Abstract

The emergence of High-throughput sequencing and its implication in the analysis of microbial population has introduced a new area of scientific researchmetagenomics. Metagenomic analysis has brought a revolution in various fields of biological research, notably drug discovery. The term refers to the collective examination of genome analysis of unculturable microbial communities residing in a specific type of environmental condition or niche. A comprehensive investigation of the microbial diversity of unexploited areas with the aid of molecular biology and High-throughput sequencing technologies has opened the floodgates to explore and profile varieties of novel bioactive metabolites and potential antibiotics that promise to be of immense gravity for the pharmaceutical sector. High-throughput sequencing has accelerated the process of metabolite identification from metagenomic samples. Several bioactive metabolites have been obtained from metagenomic samples with immense therapeutic potential. Some examples include malacidin, fluoroquinolone, minimide and erdacin. In this chapter, major benchmark studies executed on the pharmacologically significant bioactive metabolites, extracted from metagenomic samples, have been discussed elaborately. An extensive review has also been conducted on several specialised bioinformatics-based pipelines frequently employed for the purpose. The present approach also aims at highlighting the major unexplored areas of drug discovery from metagenomic samples and associated metabolites—a hidden treasure for the pharmaceutical sector.