NFDI4Microbiota advances FAIR data in microbiology by promoting community standards and by curating and integrating previously fragmented data resources. Two key efforts, metaTraits and Metalog, have FAIRified data on microbial phenotypic traits and metagenomic contextual metadata. Together with our partner EMBL’s database SPIRE, which provides uniformly processed metagenomes, these vast and interoperable resources enabled a study spearheaded by EMBL that achieved the first truly planetary-scale tracking of gene flow and antimicrobial resistance, recently published in the Journal Cell.
The study shows that microbiomes around the world are more interconnected than previously thought. A small group of highly adaptable microbes, called generalists, can thrive in very different environments, from the ocean to the human gut. Humans accelerate the dispersal of these microbes by creating new connections between environments that would otherwise remain separate. As they move between habitats, generalists can exchange genes with other microbes through horizontal gene transfer. This exchange can also spread genes conferring antimicrobial resistance (AMR), highlighting the relevance of the One Health concept.
The study highlights how NFDI4Microbiota’s data infrastructure makes high-impact, global microbiome research possible. By enabling the integration and analysis of massive datasets across ecosystems, FAIR data infrastructures allow researchers to uncover how microbial communities connect human, animal, and environmental health across the planet.
Publikation:
metaTraits:
Metalog:
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