Identity of Carbohydrate-Responsive Genes in a Cultured Microbial Community Using Metagenomic and Metatranscriptomic Approaches

Metagenomics can be used to obtain sequence information on putative genes in a microbial community. However, it is difficult to identify genes with specific functions among the numerous predicted genes. In this study, we attempted to identify genes induced in cultured microbes by the addition of saccharides using metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses. A mixture of arabinoxylan and its derived oligosaccharides was used as the inducer in this study. Some genes were highly induced in the presence of additive saccharides and formed gene clusters for the utilization of additive saccharides, suggesting that metatranscriptomic and metagenomic analyses are useful for analyzing carbohydrate-responsive genes in microbial communities and screening novel carbohydrate-active enzymes.