Role of Metagenomics and Microbial Diversity in the Restoration of Tropic and Temperate Ecosystems

The geographical area where all the abiotic and biotic factors interact with each other to make the bubble of life is known as the ecosystem. While many natural and artificial calamities occur to destroy the ecosystem, microbial diversity plays a vital role in maintaining and functioning it. The microbes constitute one-third of the earth's biomass and are composed of enormous genetic diversity from extremely hot (thermophilic) and moderate (mesophilic) to extreme cold (psychrophilic) climatic conditions. Therefore, the principal objective of microbiome research is to elucidate the relationship between microbial diversity and its function in maintaining or restoring the ecosystem. Recent advances in microbial ecology and metagenomic approaches have enabled detailed assessment of the highly complex communities, allowing the establishment of the link between diversity and the function performed by microbes. In this chapter, we will explore some advanced bioinformatic tools for metagenomic studies that can provide quantitative insights into the functional ecology of microbial communities. The detailed study will help us understand the complex microbial diversity in tropical and temperate ecosystems and their functional aspects in ecosystem restoration.

Keywords: Ecosystem restoration, In silico approaches, Microbial diversity, Metagenomics, Mesophilic, Psychrophilic, Thermophilic, Tropical ecosystem, Temperate ecosystem.