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Soil Metagenomics: A Tool for Sustainable Agriculture

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Mining of Microbial Wealth and MetaGenomics

Abstract

Microorganisms are considered as an unlimited, untapped, and intriguing source for development of novel genes, antibiotics, bioinoculants, biocatalysts, etc. Therefore, the identification and characterization of the microbial wealth becomes inevitable. Besides other features of bacteria that are a challenge to health, including increase in pathogenicity, antibiotic resistance, mounting host spectra, and possibility of usage for bioterrorism, it becomes a compulsion. Furthermore, a sustainable agriculture development program that frequently exploits the plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) also requires a correct identification and characterization of agriculturally important microorganisms. Metagenomics is defined as the study of all available genomes in an environment that contains considerably more genetic information than provided by the cultured subset. It also helps in bridging the gap between genetics and ecology, indicating that the genes of a single microorganism are connected to the genes of other members of the community.

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Acknowledgment

The work mentioned in this chapter from author group was supported by the National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms, India (NBAIM/ICAR), grant to R.G.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, CBSH, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, 263 145, Uttaranchal, India

    Reeta Goel & Deep Chandra Suyal

  2. Department of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Agriculture, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India

    Narayan, Biplab Dash & Ravindra Soni

Authors
  1. Reeta Goel
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  2. Deep Chandra Suyal
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  3. Narayan
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  4. Biplab Dash
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  5. Ravindra Soni
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ravindra Soni .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Microbial Biotechnology and Genomics, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India

    Vipin Chandra Kalia

  2. Microbial Culture Collection, National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, India

    Yogesh Shouche

  3. Environmental Biotechnology and Genomics Division, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR), Nagpur, India

    Hemant J. Purohit

  4. Microbial Culture Collection, National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, India

    Praveen Rahi

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Goel, R., Suyal, D.C., Narayan, Dash, B., Soni, R. (2017). Soil Metagenomics: A Tool for Sustainable Agriculture. In: Kalia, V., Shouche, Y., Purohit, H., Rahi, P. (eds) Mining of Microbial Wealth and MetaGenomics. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5708-3_13

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