PNNL

Abstract

Within the last decade there has been an explosion of multi-omics data generated for a number of microbial systems. With this collection of data has also come new methods of analysis based on inferring networks that link genes both within and between species based on correlation in abundance. Here, I briefly describe what has been done with this technology to date and what questions still need to be answered as we move forward. Network inference has answered a number of important questions and the analytic power of –omics techniques are well-documented. We are now in a strong position to combine these two approaches over the next 5-10 years to infer networks that contain multiple kinds of –omic data and describe systems with multiple species. These applications will open the door for a better understanding and use of microbiomes across a variety of fields.