Metagenomics
Definition
Shotgun sequencing of all DNA in a sample followed by bioinformatic assignment of reads to taxa. Does not require prior knowledge of which species are present; identifies every taxon contributing readable DNA.
Related terms
- Collagen peptide barcoding
- Species identification from trypsin-digested collagen analysed by mass spectrometry. Peptide sequences differ between species at diagnostic positions that survive tanning and heat...
- DNA fragmentation
- Physical breakage of the DNA backbone into short pieces. In degraded samples the average fragment length may be 50-200 bp, making long...
- Library preparation (aDNA)
- Enzymatic end-repair, adapter ligation, and amplification of all DNA fragments in a sample regardless of length, used in ancient-DNA and degraded-sample workflows....
- PCR inhibitor
- A substance in a sample extract that suppresses the polymerase chain reaction, reducing amplification efficiency or causing amplification failure. Haemoglobin, melanin, humic...
- Short-amplicon strategy
- A PCR design that targets the shortest possible fragment length: often 80-150 bp: within a diagnostic locus such as COI. Shorter targets...
Explained in
- DNA from Degraded and Processed Wildlife ProductsShotgun sequencing of all DNA in a sample followed by bioinformatic assignment of reads to taxa. Does not require prior knowledge of which species are present;...