Metatranscriptomics, Metaproteomics, and Metabolomics Approaches for Microbiome Characterization

Every living thing has its own unique microbiome. Environmental niches are sensitive to changes in the microbiome and how those changes affect them. Various methods utilizing data from various omics have been investigated to gain a better understanding of these communities. To get a full picture, we can use metatranscriptomics to get a functional profile, metaproteomics to identify and quantify of proteins, metabolomics to find out which by-products are emitted into the environment, and metagenomics to create a taxonomical profile of the sample. While there is useful information to be gleaned from each method independently, metabolite analysis, in contrast to metagenome sequencing, elucidates the metabolically active population of microbes rather than their genetic potential. With the use of genome sequence information, the genetic background of the microbe was considered while evaluating transcriptional activity. We conclude that network-based techniques, when applied to integrative investigations, provide the key to a thorough comprehension of microbiomes in this chapter.