The U.S. Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute has released IMG/M, an experimental metagenome data management and analysis system.
Researchers say IMG/M integrates metagenome, also known as aggregate genome, data from diverse environmental microbial communities with isolate microbial genome data from the Walnut Creek., Calif.-based, JGI's Integrated Microbial Genomes system.
That allows the application of IMG's comparative analysis tools on metagenome data. New tools also enable the examination of functional annotation profiles across microbial communities and isolated organisms of interest, and the analysis of strain-level heterogeneity within a species population in metagenome data.
Thus far, IMG/M has been used for completing the analysis of biological phosphorus removing sewage sludge communities and for studying the metagenomes of several key microbial communities recently sequenced by JGI, including the hydrogen-producing consortium colonizing the termite hindgut.
IMG/M will be demonstrated Friday during a Walnut Creek, workshop as part of the Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute First Annual User Meeting.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
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