David Coil edited Introduction.md  about 9 years ago

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#Introduction  Thanks to decreases in cost and difficulty, sequencing the genome of a microorganism is becoming a relatively common activity in many research and educational institutions. However, such microbial genome sequencing is still far from routine or simple. The objective of this work was to design, test, troubleshoot, and publish a comprehensive workflow for microbial genome sequencing, encompassing everything from culturing new organisms to depositing sequence data; enabling even a lab with limited resources and bioinformatics experience to perform it.  In the fall of 2011, our lab began a project with the goal of having undergraduate students generate genome sequences for microorganisms isolated from the "built environment". The project focused on the built environment because it was part of the larger "microBEnet" (microbiology of the built environment network, [www.microbe.net](www.microbe.net)) effort. This project serves many purposes, including (1) engaging undergraduates in research on microbiology of the built environment, (2) generating "reference genomes" for microbes that are found in the built environment, and (3) providing a resource for educational activities on microbiology of the built environment. As part of this project, undergraduate students isolated and classified microbes, sequenced and assembled their genomes, submitted the genome sequences to databases housed by The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), and published the genomes \cite{Lo_2013}\cite{Bendiks_2013}\cite{Flanagan_2013}\cite{Diep_2013}\cite{Coil_2013}\cite{Holland_Moritz_2013}. Despite the reduced cost of genome sequencing and the availability of diverse tools making many of the steps easier, (e.g. kits for library prep, cost-effective sequencing, bioinformatics pipelines), there were still a significant number of stumbling blocks. Moreover, some portions of the project involve choosing between a wide variety of options (_e.g.,_ choice of assembly program) which can create a large activation energy barrier  for a lab without a bioinformatician. Each option comes with its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of complexity, expense, computing power, time, and experience required. In this workflow, we describe an approach to genome sequencing that allows a researcher to go from a swab to a published paper. We used this workflow to process a novel _Tatumella_ sp. isolate and publish the genome \cite{Dunitz_2014}. The data from every step of the workflow, using this _Tatumella_ isolate, is available on Figshare \cite{a4e375db-d538-4413-b23d-26132131aa94} The sequencing and _de novo_ assembly of genomes has yielded enormous scientific insight revolutionizing a wide range of fields, from epidemiology to ecology. Our hope is that this workflow will help make this revolution more accessible to all scientists, as well as present educational opportunities for undergraduate researchers and classes.