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Microgenomics, a major challenge

We have all heard of metagenomics, but have you heard of microgenomics?! The former is the analysis of the genomes of a group of organisms (soil microorganisms, intestinal microbiota). The latter is on the contrary aimed at analyzing the genome on the single-cell level. This is a major challenge in the field of predictive systems biology, notably in the animal and plant sciences, which we hope will lead to new therapies in human health (personalized medicine).

An important methodological step to climb

The joint research unit GABI of INRA organized the first International Symposium on Microgenomics which was held in Paris on 15 and 16 May 2014. During these two days, renowned European and American specialists, for the most part pioneers in Microgenomics, presented the stakes and the most recent methodologies and techniques that allow isolation of single (or several) cells and the extraction of biomolecules (DNA, RNA and proteins) for analysis, considering that they are present in very small quantities.

These methodological aspects were illustrated by applications in different fields of medical research (cancerology, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, etc) but also in agronomy (fertility, health value of milk). The oral presentations provided a glimpse at the most advanced studies that use microgenomics tools in the fields of immunology, the relations between intestinal microbiota – stress, etc.