[Application status of metagenomics in quality research of traditional Chinese medicinal materials].

ABSTRACT

Metagenomics constructs genomic libraries by directly extracting DNA from all microorganisms from environmental samples, and studies microbial diversity and functional composition by microbiology and genomics. The metagenomic technology and genome sequencing can be used to discover the unculturable environmental microorganisms and study the natural products in the medicinal materials related to them, which overcome the limitations of microbial isolation and culture technology and is of great significance for the discovery of new genes or genomes. The quality and safety of traditional Chinese medicine materials(TCMMs) have always been a hot topic in the research on TCMMs. In addition to the intrinsic characteristics, environmental factors and human intervention also affect the quality and clinical efficacy of TCMMs. Environmental microorganisms, rhizosphere microorganisms, and endophytes play an essential role in the growth, secondary metabolism, processing, and storage of medicinal plants. As an emerging discipline, metagenomics has been used in a variety of fields. It can not only avoid the problems caused by the limited technical conditions or strict experimental requirements but also evaluate the quality of TCMMs from a new perspective. This paper introduced the application status of metagenomics in the research of TCMMs and proposed the theoretical basis and research direction for the application of metagenomics in quality research and identification of TCMMs.