Craig Venter, a leader of one of the teams that sequenced the human genome, turned his attention to cataloging the microbial life of the oceans.His studies, which involve PCR amplification of microbial DNA and a sequencing of the PCR products, are part of a field of biology called
A) functional genomics.
B) transposon tagging.
C) proteomics.
D) phenomics.
E) metagenomics.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Craig Venter's studies involving PCR amplification of microbial DNA and sequencing the PCR products are characteristic of the field of metagenomics, which focuses on the study of microbial communities and their genomic diversity. Metagenomics typically involves analyzing DNA extracted directly from environmental samples rather than individual isolates, and can provide insights into the functional capacity of entire communities of microbes.

Craig Venter, a Leader of One of the Teams That