metagenomics
/ˌmɛt.ə.dʒəˈnɒm.ɪks/ IELTSAcademic
noun
The study of genetic material taken directly from an environment, without first isolating and growing each organism. It helps scientists see all the microbes and genes in a sample together.
- Metagenomics can reveal microbes in soil.
- The lab used metagenomics to study the river water.
- Metagenomics shows more than one species at work.
Adinary Nuance
Metagenomics is broader than genomics because it studies mixed genetic material from an environment, not one organism at a time. It is also more direct than microbiology when the goal is to read DNA from a whole sample. Writers choose it when the sample contains many unknown organisms together.
In other languages
- Vietnamese
- siêu gen học
- Spanish
- metagenómica
- Chinese
- 宏基因组学
- Japanese
- メタゲノミクス
- Korean
- 메타게놈학
Etymology
Metagenomics was formed in modern scientific English in the late 20th century. It combines meta-, genome, and -ics, referring to the study of genes in whole communities.
Common phrases
metagenomic analysismetagenomic sequencingmetagenomic datametagenomic study
Synonyms
Related words
Frequently asked questions
- Is metagenomics the same as genomics?
- No. Genomics usually studies one organism's genome. Metagenomics studies DNA from many organisms in a sample.
- Is metagenomics a common academic word?
- Yes, in biology, genetics, and research writing. It is not common in everyday speech.
- How do I use metagenomics in a sentence?
- Use it as a noun: "Metagenomics helped identify bacteria in the sample."
- Is metagenomics used in IELTS or academic writing?
- Yes, it can appear in science reading or research topics. It sounds formal and technical.