The continued description of purely 16S rRNA gene surveys as ‘metagenomics’ continues unabated. Whether this is down to a lack of understanding of what ‘metagenomics’ actually encompasses, or a desire to link research to a hot topic such as metagenomics, it’s a trend that dilutes the understanding of what actual metagenomics can accomplish for members of the public, and scientists in other fields….a couple of recent blog posts from Jonathan Eisen and Mick Watson have highlighted this, and are well worth reading:
From Jonathan Eisen’s The Tree of Life Blog
From Mick Watson’s opinomics blog