microbiome-methods
Microbiome methods encompass the laboratory and computational techniques used to characterize the complex communities of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms that inhabit plant tissues, roots, and the surrounding soil. Understanding these microbial communities is critical for plant science because the plant microbiome profoundly influences host health, nutrient acquisition, stress tolerance, and disease resistance. Advances in sequencing technologies and bioinformatics pipelines have made it possible to survey plant-associated microbial diversity at unprecedented resolution, opening new avenues for harnessing beneficial microbes to improve crop performance and ecosystem resilience.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-05-06
This minireview surveys the molecular and bioinformatic tools used to study the oral microbiome — the community of bacteria, fungi, and protists living in the human mouth — and highlights key databases that catalog this microbial diversity. It covers sequencing techniques and omics approaches that help researchers link specific microbes to dental disease and oral cancer.
16S rRNA gene sequencing is the primary method for profiling bacterial species in the oral cavity, including pathogens linked to cavities, gum disease, and oral cancer.
18S rRNA gene sequencing complements bacterial analysis by revealing fungal and protist members of the oral microbiome, including parasites.
Dedicated databases such as the Human Oral Microbiome Database (HOMD) and Oral Microbiome Database (OMD) provide curated reference data that accelerate community-level research.