The microbial world is a vast frontier of intrinsic scientific importance and profound practical importance. The exploration of this frontier has been revolutionised by the introduction of molecular techniques. However, recent advances have only served to emphasise the enormity of the task before us. The improvements in sequencing technology have enormous implications for those at this frontier. Nevertheless description of this huge resource and the discovery of the rule governing its occurrence transcend the ability of not simply any one research group, but of any one nation. The purpose of this Action is to coordinate research groups across Europe to meet this challenge in the belief that if we agree upon common protocols and procedures we will share and pool knowledge to create a whole which is far greater than the sum of the parts. The Action will not only seek to document this frontier but to analyse it, to seek patterns, generate hypotheses and to test theories and thus deepen our knowledge. Perhaps most importantly of all, we will be preparing and enabling the next generation of researchers to use the next generation of technologies to ensure that Europe can lead the world in the exploration of this frontier.
Microbial diversity - Pyrosequencing - massively parallel sequencing Pyronoise - bioinformatics - metagenomics - mathematical modelling
