The human intestinal microbiome is a microbial ecosystem that expresses as many as 100 times more genes than the human host, thereby constituting an important component of the human holobiome, which contributes to multiple health and disease processes. As most commensal species are difficult or impossible to culture, genomic characterization of microbiome composition and function, under various environmental conditions, comprises a central tool in understanding its roles in health and disease. The first decade of microbiome research was mainly characterized by usage of DNA sequencing-based 16S rDNA and shotgun metagenome sequencing, allowing for the elucidation of microbial composition and genome structure. Technological advances in RNA-seq have recently provided us with an ability to gain insight into the genes that are actively expressed in complex bacterial communities, enabling the elucidation of the functional changes that dictate the microbiome functions at given contexts, its interactions with the host, and functional alterations that accompany the conversion of a healthy microbiome toward a disease-driving configuration. Here, we highlight some of the key metatranscriptomics strategies that are implemented to determine microbiota gene expression and its regulation and discuss the advantages and potential challenges associated with these approaches.

Stavros Bashiardes

Gili Zilberman-Schapira

Eran Elinav

Bioinformatics and Biology Insights

An open access, peer reviewed electronic journal that covers computational biology, particularly computational methods used in the analysis and annotation of structures.

Bioinformatics and Biology Insights is an open access, peer-reviewed electronic journal that focuses on computational biology, particularly the computational methods used for the analysis and annotation of biological structures.

《Bioinformatics and Biology Insights》是一本开放获取、经过同行评审的电子期刊，专注于计算生物学，尤其是用于结构分析和注释的计算方法。

Bioinform Biol Insights

Use of Metatranscriptomics in Microbiome Research

Some of the key metatranscriptomics strategies that are implemented to determine microbiota gene expression and its regulation are highlighted and discussed and the advantages and potential challenges associated with these approaches are discussed.

Use of Metatranscriptomics in Microbiome Research

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Journal Info

Category	Quartile
BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH METHODS	3