NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The Beijing Genomics Institute-Shenzhen will lead a project with other Chinese Universities that will begin development of a genomic encyclopedia of microbes that exist in China.
The "Ten Thousand Microbial Genomes Project" will serve as a companion of the international 1000 Genomes Project, and will "focus on the systematic research of highly diversified microbial resources in China at the genome level," BGI-Shenzhen said recently.
Researchers plan to use the latest genomic sequencing technologies to study microbial metabolism, gene expression, and signal transduction, and to study how these microbes influence the environment and humans.
The microbes the project plans to study include achaea, bacteria, fungi, algae, and viruses from conventional environments such as soil, air, and water, and from extreme environments such as glaciers, deep ocean hot springs, and outer space.
Organizations partnering with the BGI-Shenzhen on the microbe project include CAS, CRAES, CAAS, Beijing University, Tsinghua University, Nanjing Industrial University, Zhejiang University, Jiangnan University, Shandong University, South China University of Technology, Zhejiang Hisunpharm, Tsingtao Brewery, and Kweichow Moutai.