Q: What does metagenomics study?

A: Metagenomics studies genes found in a microbiome. It analyzes the collective genetic material (metagenome) directly from environmental samples to understand microbial diversity and function.

Q: How is metagenomics different from genomics?

A: Metagenomics is a specific subclass of genomics. While traditional genomics focuses on the complete set of genes within a single organism or species, metagenomics focuses on the collective genetic material from all microorganisms within a specific environment or microbiome.

Q: Why is metagenomics important?

A: It allows scientists to study microorganisms that cannot be cultured in the lab, revealing vast diversity and functional potential in environments like oceans, soil, and the human gut. This provides crucial insights into microbial ecology, evolution, and interactions.

Q: What is the relationship between metagenomics and the microbiome?

A: Metagenomics is fundamentally defined as the study of genes found in a microbiome. The microbiome is the community of microorganisms themselves, while metagenomics studies the collective genetic material (DNA/RNA) within that community.

metagenomics

study of genes found in a microbiome

Class type of: genomics Q903778

Facts

5 properties

Instance of: academic discipline, branch of biology, omics^[2]^[3]
Subclass of: genomics^[4]
Is the study of: metagenome^[6]
Name in kana: メタゲノミクス^[5]
P14541: 267Bgn^[7]

🏷️ Also known as

en metagenomics ar الميتاجينومية cs metagenomika da metagenomik es Metagenomica es metagenómica fa متاژنومیکس fi metagenomiikka fr génomique environnementale fr métagénomique he מטא-גנומיקה id metagenomik it genomica ambientale ja メタジェノティクス ja メタゲノミクス ja メタゲノム ja メタジェノミクス ko 범유전체학 pl metagenom pl Metagenomika

🔖 Identifiers · 19

GND ID: 1160786313
OpenAlex ID: C15151743
DeCS ID: 53780
Encyclopedia of China (Third Edition) ID: 128836
Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID: topic/metagenomics
Freebase ID: /m/04_5pt
GitHub topic: metagenomics
Google News topics ID: CAAqIggKIhxDQkFTRHdvSkwyMHZNRFJmTlhCMEVnSmxiaWdBUAE
Great Russian Encyclopedia Online ID (2017): 2207286
JSTOR topic ID (archived): metagenomics
MeSH descriptor ID: D056186
MeSH tree code: H01.158.273.343.350.261

Show all 19 identifiers +7

Microsoft Academic ID (discontinued): 15151743
NL CR AUT ID: ph665131
National Library of Israel J9U ID: 987007581440905171
Quora topic ID: Metagenomics
Semantic Scholar topic ID: 103996
Topic's main category: Category:Metagenomics
UMLS CUI: C2717799

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🔗 Connections

Instance of 2

academic discipline, omics

← Field of work 2

Elhanan Borenstein, Ken Youens-Clark

Is the study of 1

metagenome

Subclass of 1

genomics

Topic's main category 1

Category:Metagenomics

← Category's main topic 1

Category:Metagenomics

← Main subject 1

MG-RAST

← Studied by 1

metagenome

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Summary

metagenomics is an academic discipline^[1].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

Class ancestry

[1] ↑ metagenomics is an instance of academic discipline (Q11862829) [P31, primary]. Wikidata. wikidata.org.

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Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). metagenomics. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/metagenomics

MLA “metagenomics.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 2 Nov. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/metagenomics.

BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_metagenomics_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{metagenomics}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/metagenomics}, note = {Accessed: 2026-11-02}}

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According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): metagenomics — https://4ort.xyz/entity/metagenomics (retrieved 2026-11-02)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/metagenomics · Last refreshed: November 2, 2026

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16w ago · Nyuhn · 2026-07-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗

P14541 → 267Bgn

"/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/40849|batch #40849]]: ZGBK ID"
23w ago · Twofivesixbot bot · 2026-05-26 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Github topic → —

Name in kana → —

Freebase ID → /m/04_5pt

Semantic Scholar topic ID → 103996

+ 43 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)

"/* wbsetclaim-update-qualifiers:1||1|3 */ National Library of Israel J9U ID: 987007581440905171, mv to monolingual text names on J9U statements"

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