IISER MOHALI

Abstract:
Prokaryotes were the first cellular life forms to emerge on planet Earth. Understanding the biology of Prokaryotes begins with their identification and characterization. This science, called “Bacterial systematics,” has come a long way from the time of application of biochemical characterization, evolving to include chemotaxonomic and molecular parameters, such as 16S rRNA gene sequencing and whole-genome sequencing, which has become the gold standard for classification and identification over the last decade. In particular, whole-genome metagenome sequencing has become a cornerstone for understanding the microbial structure-function of any environmental habitat. Several novel taxa have been reported from diverse habitats, and through a polyphasic taxonomic approach combined with whole-genome sequencing, taxonomic ambiguities across different bacterial groups have been resolved. The current trend focuses on applying genomics and deep sequencing to decipher prokaryotic diversity across different environments using a combination of culture-dependent and metagenomic approaches.