Workshop Charge:

To develop a set
of recommenda-
tions for the BIO Advisory
Committee
regarding unique research priorities
and goals for the
NSF in genome-enabled microbiological
science in light
of the overall
federal
investment in
this area.

Current
challenges
include the
lack of
standards
among groups
for genome annotation;
the lack of
uniformity in
data presentation, accessibility,
output
capabilities,
and archiving
of software
versions; and
relatively poor software documentation.

All too often good science is not funded because the
relevance of the research is not understood by the non-specialist.

Methane producing microbes. Photo courtesy of Henry
Aldrich.

Background
and Challenges

Sequencing and Biodiversity

Genomics is the latest and most exciting tool aimed at unraveling the
incredible complexity of microbial life on earth. The field of microbial
genomics has made enormous progress during the past five years since the
first report on the completion of the genome sequence from a free-living
organism in 1995. As of December 2000, the complete sequences of thirty-five
microbial species have been published in the scientific literature, with
preliminary data from ongoing projects on ~100 other species available
via the Internet. The ~135 microbial genome sequencing projects funded
to date have focused exclusively on organisms that can be grown in culture
or in animal cells. This approach cannot provide a true picture of the
diversity of life on earth. For example, culture-independent methods have
shown that 30-40% of the cells in ocean waters represent archaeal species
and are major biological components of other habitats such as lake sediments
and forest soils.

The technology now exists to recover very large fragments of DNA from
natural, complex environmental samples. The diversity of the microbes
represented in these environmental genome studies appears to mirror that
originally identified via 16S rRNA studies. The availability of large
insert DNA clones has facilitated a new approach to understanding the
genome composition of organisms present in environmental samples, and
this provides a link between genomics and microbial ecology studies. For
example, De Long and colleagues have recently identified a halophile-like
bacteriorhodopsin gene, which had previously only been known in Archaea,
in a member of the Bacteria. The proteorhodopsin can be expressed in E.
coli and binds retinal. This bacterial species represents a new and
important type of phototroph in the ocean and the potential exists for
the identification of other proteorhodopsin variants in other bacterial
species that absorb light at different wavelengths. In addition to the
new biology described by this study, these findings have implications
in the field of nanotechnology. Bacteriorhodopsins can be used in biofilms
as optical switches in optical computers. This is an immediate practical
application to come from basic research in microbial genomics.

In addition to identification of new species of microorganisms, genomics
also has the potential to provide a comprehensive picture of microbial
communities and consortia. As individual microbial genomes are mosaics
of genes from mixed heritage, a microbial community is a collection of
gene functions distributed among its individual members. No single organism
contains all of the genes necessary to carry out the diverse biogeochemical
reactions that represent microbial community function. Because microbes
mediate and control all major pathways of carbon flow and flux, it will
be extremely important to integrate models of biogeochemical response
and climatic change with microbial component structure and function. To
make this science predictive, we need to understand the microbial component
and its mechanistic interactions. In other words, we need to understand
the microstructure of microbial communities in the sea and in the soil,
and genomics is the key to helping us interrogate the systems.

Analysis of complete genome sequences is beginning to provide a great
deal of insight into many questions concerning the evolution of microbes.
One area of insight has surrounded the occurrence of genetic exchanges
between different evolutionary lineages  a phenomenon known as horizontal,
or lateral, gene transfer. Prior to the availability of complete genome
sequences, studies of horizontal gene transfer were limited because of
the incompleteness of the data sets being analyzed. Analyses of complete
genome sequences have led to many recent suggestions that the extent of
horizontal gene exchange is much greater than was previously appreciated.
Although large numbers of genes appear to undergo lateral transfer, analysis
of certain sets of genes supports traditional phylogenetic trees. The
question then becomes how is lateral gene transfer regulated, and if lateral
transfer is common, why don't all genes seem to move in this manner?

The best evidence for there being a "core set of genes" for
each evolutionary lineage comes from the construction of "whole genome
trees" based on the presence and absence of particular homologs or
orthologs in different complete genomes. It is important to note that
gene content trees represent averages of patterns produced by phylogeny,
gene duplication and loss, and horizontal transfer and, thus, are not
real phylogenetic trees. Nevertheless, the fact that these trees are very
similar to phylogenetic trees of genes such as rRNA and RecA suggests
that although horizontal gene transfer may be extensive, it is somehow
constrained by phylogenetic relationships. Other evidence for a "core"
of particular lineages comes from the finding of a conserved core of euryarchaeal
genomes and the finding that some types of genes may be more prone to
gene transfer than others.

Because bacterial "species" result from a combination of linear
descent and lateral gene transfer, it is essential that microbial diversity,
gene exchange, and phylogeny be studied concurrently. This realization
has resulted in a desperate need for additional genome sequence data from
both phylogenetically distant and close organisms (as defined by 16S rRNA)
from similar habitats. We also need more information from partial genomic
sequencing of all organisms in a single environment.

Which genomes should come next? Up until this time, genome projects have
focused on organisms that can be maintained in culture and that are easy
to identify  marine autotrophs, human pathogens, extremophiles.
Our future genomics work needs to look at members of all communities:
heterotrophs, symbionts, Archaea, mobile elements (phage), and fungi.
What protists would we want to focus on? Anaerobic protist genomes would
be a good place to start. One interesting group is amitochondriate protists
such as Entamoebe. Did these protists have mitochondria and lose them,
or did their mitochondria, in some cases, become hydrogenosome? Genomics
can help us answer whether or not there was a single mitochondrial origin,
which is very important in trying to understand whether some of these
protists are more basal in the eukaryotic tree than others.

Bioinformatics and Databases

The pace at which the genomics field has moved forward during the past
decade has had a profound effect on the emerging field of bioinformatics.
The software tools for managing large-scale sequencing projects, for gene
identification and annotation, and for database development, for example,
are not commercially available, and as a result, both large and small
genome centers have developed their own suites of software and tools for
handling large sets of genome data. This has led to a series of problems
that have become apparent with ~ thirty-five complete genome sequences
available and that will only get worse as DNA sequence information and
data from functional genomics studies continues to increase. Current challenges
include the lack of standards among groups for genome annotation; the
lack of funding for ongoing curation of many existing databases; the lack
of uniformity in data presentation, accessibility, output capabilities,
and archiving of software versions; and relatively poor software documentation.
As additional and more complex data come on-line, these challenges will
be increased by the lack of database interoperability due to the use of
heterogeneous software systems, database schemas that make it difficult
to search different types of data, the lack of universal tools for uploading
and downloading files or searching databases containing different types
of data, and the existence of multiple model organism databases (MODs)
that are only poorly linked to each other.

In the near future, many of these deficiencies will need to be addressed
if the scientific community is going to be able to fully exploit the information
available from a myriad of sources. Some of the needs of diverse communities
include development of technology including shared database software tools,
a means of querying multiple databases simultaneously, a means of using
databases to provide new insight about biological function, a means of
using databases for predictive capabilities such as metabolic pathway
complement from genome sequence and phenotype of knock-out mutant, a means
of carrying out large-scale genome annotation and comparative analyses,
and new software for understanding metabolic pathways.

Functional Genomics

The genomics field is a highly disciplinary science, and the need for
an interdisciplinary approach is perhaps best exemplified by the current
set of opportunities and challenges in the functional genomics arena.
Functional genomics is a term that is frequently used but one that has
different meanings to different people. It is possible to think about
functional genomics in three different but related aspects: scientific,
technological, and applied.

The goals of functional genomics from a scientific perspective are to
learn how cells and organisms work in an integrated manner and how different
taxa have evolved different mechanisms to solve biological problems. The
kind of information that we need to address these global questions include
such things as the function, localization, movement, post-translational
modification, and activity of macromolecules in the cell; the steady-state
and non steady-state concentrations of RNA, proteins, and metabolites;
and the molecular interactions and integration of these biological molecules
and signals.

The goals of functional genomics from a technological perspective relate
to measurement and modeling; development of high throughput, robust technologies
to determine the state of a cell at every level of organization; and use
of computational tools to allow rapid integration of information and identification
of "emergent properties" of a biological system. A number of
technologies already exist that can be brought to bear on these questions
including knock-out technologies, localization technologies, two-hybrid
analysis, microarray and related technologies, 2-D PAGE, mass spectrometry,
and X-ray crystallography, for example. Computational analyses are an
integral part of this equation and longer-term goals will be to predict
function from structure, carry out higher-level analyses of complex datasets,
and use this information to model and predict the behavior of biological
systems.

The goals of functional genomics from an applied perspective relate to
discovery and prediction or intervention in biological systems. This kind
of approach has the potential to provide solutions to current problems
in medicine, ecology, agriculture, defense, and engineering. No single
approach will be sufficient to adequately address any biological question
going forward and the need for integration of approaches and disciplines
will become ever more urgent.

Recommendations

Unlike other funding agencies such as the NIH, DOE, USDA, and DOD that
fund specific areas of microbial genomics research, the National Science
Foundation has the opportunity and responsibility to develop a research
agenda in this area that is unparalleled in terms of its depth and breadth
of coverage. The NSF can look beyond issues of human health and bioremediation
to put in place a series of initiatives that will redefine our understanding
of the diversity of life on Earth, that will more fully define the importance
of microorganisms in the health and longevity not only of all the species
that inhabit the Earth but also that of our planet, and that will reveal
the relationships between all species in the continuum of life on Earth.
Therefore, a NSF-supported program in microbial genomics should include
a number of broad, interdisciplinary projects that address fundamental
questions in basic microbiology, evolutionary biology, microbial ecology,
population biology, and comparative genomics. The experimental approaches
that will be taken include everything from DNA sequencing to functional
genomics to studies of populations of uncultured organisms to development
of new technologies for genome-enabled science. Selection of projects
for funding under this initiative should, for the most part, be driven
by biological questions; however, the participants agreed that there is
also value in funding genomics efforts that may fall outside of the traditional
hypothesis-driven research. While the participants agreed that microbial
genomics/genome-enabled science represent a continuum of activities that
are interrelated, for the ease of discussion, the following recommendations
have been separated into three main areas: sequencing and biodiversity,
bioinformatics and databases, and functional genomics.

Sequencing and Biodiversity

Genome sciences will play a key role in our understanding of all levels
of biological organization from single cells to the biosphere and beyond.
Genome sequencing projects provide a biological parts list for an organism
or a population that is an essential starting point for understanding
how these parts work together to create a living cell or a functional
ecosystem and how processes such as photosynthesis and nutrient cycling
evolved and operate today. Genome sciences have the potential to change
the way in which environmental research is approached, with tremendous
benefit to be derived from integration of information about the microbial
composition of a given environment with ecosystem models. Genome information
will enable investigators to begin to address general questions such as
"how are genes distributed among organisms and why?" and "how
do genes define the interactions of organisms with the environment?".
As biologists and engineers collaborate in these efforts, genome sciences
will begin to support development and discovery of new biomaterials and
have a tremendous impact on bioengineering and nanotechnology.

Four primary areas of focus were defined as being essential to understanding
microbial life on Earth. The first area focused on gene and genome inventories
with long-range research goals of determining (1) patterns of gene distribution
among microorganisms; (2) interactions between genes, genomes, and the
environment; and (3) the foundation of organism-organism interactions.
A second area focused on elucidation of the processes and patterns that
govern gene distribution among species. This will require an understanding
of phenomena such as vertical gene inheritance vs. lateral gene transfer,
gene duplications and coalescence, and invention or recruitment of genes
for new activities. A third area was directed toward understanding how
genes define interactions with the environment. Relevant questions to
be addressed include how environmental parameters affect gene distributions
among species vs. how gene distributions among species affect environmental
parameters, the effects of organisms on the environment (nutrient and
energy cycling), the effect of the environment on organism activities,
the development of methods for directed and correlative studies of organisms
in their environments, and whether the activities of a group of organisms
can be used as a biosensor of environmental conditions. The last area
is related to organism-organism interactions and defining the relationships
that exist, which are essential for the survival of microbial populations,
consortia, symbioses, and endosymbioses.

To be able to address these questions, it will be necessary to expand
genome sequencing efforts beyond those that are currently underway. To
have a sufficient amount of molecular information for carrying out the
above analyses, the following milestones were suggested:

One of the most important objectives in initially selecting cultivated
prokaryotic species for genome sequencing projects should be to increase
the representation of phylogenetic breadth, followed by emphasis on more
closely-related species. It is very difficult to make recommendations
for time periods beyond 2-3 years given the rapid rate of technological
development in large-scale DNA sequencing. There is great potential for
continued reduction in the cost of DNA sequencing, making today's seemingly
ambitious goals more feasible tomorrow. A tremendous capacity for large-scale
DNA sequencing exists in academic and industrial genome centers around
the world. The participants agreed that there is no need to fund the development
of new infrastructure related to genome sequencing; rather, the goal should
be to make best use of existing capacity through scientific collaborations
or the establishment of a virtual genomics center that would provide support
for some aspects of these projects while leaving other aspects to be carried
out in individual research laboratories.

Bioinformatics and Databases

Bioinformatics and databases are critical to the infrastructure and success
of any genomic research. While it has been possible to automate essentially
all aspects of the process for generating large-scale DNA sequences, there
are still tremendous bottlenecks in genome annotation, even for large
sequencing centers, and too many inconsistencies in standards for genome
annotation, which have hampered comparative genome analyses. Moreover,
a number of specialized databases now exist that are poorly linked to
each other, presenting yet another set of obstacles that must be overcome
if this information is to be widely available to the scientific community.
As the number of functional genomic analyses conducted increases, the
lack of uniformity in data presentation and access are increasingly important
issues. Without uniformity, it is difficult or impossible to perform high
throughput comparisons of data from different laboratories. The propagation
of annotation errors and the non-uniformity of annotation across genomes
make discovery of gene and protein function ever greater challenges. Three
major goals were defined that address the current limitations in the area
of bioinformatics and databases.

The first goal is to develop a set of tools for accurate, automated genome
analysis to support genome assembly and gene finding; prediction of biological
function; and prediction of metabolic, signaling, and regulatory pathways.
Currently, genome annotation and analysis are carried out as a cottage
industry, but this will no longer be feasible. Development of a set of
tools will necessitate other approaches. Establishment of centers of excellence
in genome analysis and/or the development of robust software packages
for genome analysis by a commercial organization are two possible examples.
Because software and internal parameters change with some regularity,
there should be some mechanism for archiving versions of software, and
NSF should encourage researchers to publish the version or versions of
analysis software used. Additionally, since there are many non-mathematicians
using sophisticated analysis software, NSF should take the lead in encouraging/requiring
adequate documentation of software so that researchers can understand
the algorithms and default parameters to determine the underlying assumptions
or limitations in the analysis.

A second goal is to develop a series of community-specific databases
(CSDBs) that could be organized based on taxonomic groups or communities
of microorganisms. CSDBs may be geographically distributed, and the workload
may be distributed among various groups that have specific expertise in
unique areas of research. The advantage of this kind of approach is that
it can greatly minimize duplication of effort and duplicate funding of
research activities, promote more uniform data quality and representation,
and facilitate meaningful linkage between centers involved in these activities.
Moreover, it facilitates the adoption of specific standards for genome
annotation and curation as well as for database interoperability. Such
CSDBs will integrate genomic and experimental information, will undergo
continual curation by experts in each respective field, will allow easy
access to the stored data by the users, and will be computable so that
their use by the scientific community will lead to new insights about
biological function.

The final goal is to develop a more comprehensive and sophisticated set
of standards for genome annotation and comparative analyses and to institute
the appropriate sets of controls to ensure better compliance with such
standards. This is essential in order to maximize the utility of genome
data for end users. There are already too many examples of improper genome
annotation in existing databases, and as each new genome project is completed,
the quality of the data diminishes due to the continual propagation of
errors. Two related issues that must be dealt with as quickly as possible
are the need for funding to correct existing errors in genome databases
and recognition of the fact that a great deal of work involved in genome
annotation and analysis should be viewed as a scholarly activity, rather
than just a community service. Progress in this area will likely require
the establishment of an international commission to establish standards
and recommend measures to ensure compliance. It was suggested that the
NSF take the lead in putting this group together perhaps by starting with
one or more workshops to better define the problem.

Functional Genomics

The future of functional microbial genomics is absolutely dependent on
the development of new, high-throughput, affordable technologies like
mass spectrometry and DNA microarray technology that can be widely disseminated
to the scientific community. Additionally, for organisms that are genetically
tractable, genome-scale reagents such as deletion strains, complete ORF
libraries for microarrays as well as suppression studies, and two-hybrid
and GFP libraries, need to be made available to researchers in a timely
and cost-effective manner. While DNA microarray technology has shown great
promise for analysis of gene expression levels for an entire genome, it
is not widely available, and the costs for this technology are still too
high. Conversely, while 2-dimensional PAGE is widely used, it is not well
suited to analysis of proteins on a genome-scale. It is clear that no
single technology will suffice for future studies on biological function
of genes and proteins, and the integration and robustness of novel technologies
is a key component for continued rapid progress.

The data produced in these studies will have to be easy to analyze and
visualize and must be interactive with other types of relevant data. Thus,
the availability of raw scores as tab-delimited files and careful documentation
of normalization methods are critical. As in the case of bioinformatics
and database issues, it will be essential to get the input from a cross-section
of potential users during the development and planning stages for any
new approaches or technologies. Additionally, because programs are constantly
changing and internal parameters may change without notice, some type
of archival storage of programs should be carried out so that data collected
and analyzed in early studies can be compared with data obtained later.
A successful implementation of new functional genomics technologies will
require the input from a number of disciplines, and NSF is uniquely poised
to take the lead in this arena because it can bring expertise from the
biological and physical sciences, engineering, and computer science to
bear on overcoming existing technical hurdles.

The development of new technologies for functional genomics in the microbial
area can be driven, in large part, by the scientific questions to be addressed.
An important short-term goal (1-2 years) is to be able to interrogate
every open reading frame (ORF) in every organism in a population under
various environmental conditions. Not only is this goal dependent on better
technology that would allow for simultaneous measurement of changes in
gene expression on a genome level, but it is also dependent on having
a catalog of all ORFs for a particular ecosystem, one of the goals that
was elaborated under Sequencing and Biodiversity above.

Medium-term goals (3-5 years) include the development of systematic approaches
to determine the function of unknown genes. This will require the development
of scalable technologies for identifying gene/protein function and may
involve combinatorial libraries on chips or beads. Another medium-term
goal relates to moving biology from the lab bench to specific environments.
Technologies for identification of organisms in situ and for assaying
gene and protein activity in single cells in situ will be required.
The concurrent development of integrated, searchable databases and algorithms
to enhance integration and analysis of data is essential. These technological
breakthroughs will allow accurate studies on how individual organisms,
especially unculturable organisms in communities, respond to external
stimuli including other organisms in the community. In addition, these
increases in technology will allow the organisms themselves to be used
as sensors or detectors of their own environments and will permit detailed
and, eventually, predictive models of community dynamics and responses.

Longer-term goals (10-20 years) relate to environmental monitoring on
a large-scale. It will be important to be able to process a single environmental
sample, such as one ml of seawater or one gram of soil, to identify the
complement of microbes present, and to monitor the gene and protein content
and expression state of this environment. Such advances will enable one
to define a baseline activity for an entire population or habitat, natural
or engineered, and study the effects on any perturbation on a range of
parameters from the activity of a single gene to the post-translational
modification of proteins to its effect on lateral gene transfer among
species to the dynamics of the entire population of species. The ability
to carry out these analyses on evolutionarily-related organisms will allow
researchers to identify conserved regulatory networks and components essential
for cellular processes such as aging, quiescence, and cell division.

Education and Work Force Issues

An overriding theme throughout the workshop was the shortage of investigators
with training in bioinformatics, computational biology, and functional
genomics methodologies. Genomic data has been increasing at an exponential
rate, and the instrumentation that has made this possible and will be
required for functional genomics studies in the future is becoming ever
more sophisticated. A commitment must be made to integrate work in microbiology
and microbial ecology with advanced efforts in genomic sciences and to
recruit individuals with training in bioinformatics (data storage and
databases), computational biology (more complex analyses that may require
development of new algorithms or software tools), physics, mathematics
and statistics, molecular modeling, and engineering into the biological
sciences to meet the challenges for the future. While the successful investigator
in the 21st century may likely be an expert in a specific biological
discipline, she/he will also need to be able to navigate the ever-expanding
databases of genomic data and be familiar with the emerging new technologies
for functional genomics studies.

It is essential that new interdisciplinary training opportunities become
available as quickly as possible to address the needs of the scientific
communities that will be the end-users of this information. Training must
be available at all levels: for undergraduate and graduate students, for
post-doctoral fellows, and for established investigators. The necessary
training will best be accomplished by several mechanisms including development
of new courses for undergraduates and graduate students, institutional
training grants in genomics, full immersion summer courses, industry internships,
and post-doctoral fellowships in established genome centers of excellence.

Outreach to Scientific Organizations and the Public

We humans as a species are intimately involved with the microbial species
that are co-inhabitants of our planet. Although we often tend to think
about only those organisms that cause disease in humans, we are absolutely
dependent on the metabolic and biochemical diversity of microbial species
for maintenance of the earth's atmosphere, for recycling organic and inorganic
waste, for generating nitrogen for growth of plants, for providing a platform
for evolution, for producing biomaterials, and for inspiring the development
of biomaterials and technologies. In addition, we have deliberately made
use of the metabolic capabilities of microbial species in the manufacture
of food and antibiotics and in the bioremediation of industrial waste.
As the world's population continues to grow this puts an ever-increasing
burden on the planet's natural resources.

The application of genomic technology to the study of human pathogens
was readily embraced. It was clear that there is tremendous potential
to use the new genomic data from infectious species of microbes to accelerate
the development of new diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. The promise
of genomic science in the area of infectious disease research has already
begun to be realized. Novel therapeutic targets and vaccine candidates
have been identified for a number of important infectious agents and are
moving into clinical trials. The application of genomic technology to
the study of microorganisms that exist in numerous environments from deep-sea
vents to hot springs to the ocean, the soil, and our own bodies has an
equal, if not greater, potential to accelerate the development of novel
technologies for agriculture and the environment that will ultimately
influence the health of our planet.

Genomics, especially microbial genomics, is a new frontier. One of the
major lessons of genomics has been that we have always discovered more
than we would have predicted at the outset. Today, we can easily imagine
that in creased investment in microbial genomics will lead to a better
understanding of evolution and genome stability or the ability to model
transcriptional and translational regulation at the level of the cell.
We can also predict that the ability to probe genetic responses in an
environment or understand the interactions of organisms in a community
will lead to novel insights into mechanisms involved in maintaining environmental
and community homeostasis as well as those involved in intercellular and
interspecies signaling. We can also easily predict that the ability to
compare microbial physiology on a genomic level will allow us to understand
the range of states of living organisms from cell division to stasis and
death, which will give us insight into processes such as the evolution
of aging and reproduction. What provides motivation to researchers in
genomics is the sense of being on a frontier, of learning new things that
could not have been predicted, of asking questions that could not even
have been considered previously, and of anticipating that in the near
future we will be able to ask questions that today are completely beyond
our imaginations.