Mapping the Invisible: Building the Largest Database of Human Microbiomes

The Million Microbiome of Humans Project was officially launched in 2019. Scientists from 21 institutions and more than 10 participating nations are cooperating to sequence and analyze one million microbial samples from the intestines, mouth, skin, reproductive tract, and other organs in the next three to five years. The ultimate goal is to draw a microbiome map of the human body. The project aims to improve scientists’ understanding of the functional capacity of the human microbiome, and of human health and disease overall. To date, nearly 130,000 samples have been sequenced. 

In this GEN webinar, scientists from the project will share their experiences with using microbial metagenomic sequencing to build the world’s largest and most comprehensive human microbiome database. They’ll cover the technologies and protocols used to collect and analyze data on microbial communities as well as to assemble and characterize the genomes of novel species. 

A live Q&A session followed the presentation, offering a chance to pose questions to our expert panelists.