Collaboratiion with 7 countries and 11 institutes from Europe

Metagenomics is the study of microbial genetic material recovered directly from environmental samples, such as human intestinal, soil, liquor-making koji and etc. Facilitated by the development of new sequencing technology, we’re now able to study the microbes which can’t be cultivated in the lab. The throughput capability of the next-generation sequencers is advantageous to tackle the highly complex populations.

The MetaHIT project is part of the 7th Framework Programme of EU and aims to study the microbiome constituting human intestinal flora in order to characterize its functions and implications on health. This is an international collaborating effort of BGI-Shenzhen and 7 countries and 11 institutes from Europe. Specific metagenomics bioinformatics tools will be development and analysis such as assembling, annotation, species diversity and gene function classification of the complex populations will be carried out.