Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26639611›Full record

ArticleNature communications2015

Ultrahigh-throughput discovery of promiscuous enzymes by picodroplet functional metagenomics.

Pierre-Yves Colin, Balint Kintses, Fabrice Gielen, Charlotte M Miton, Gerhard Fischer, Mark F Mohamed, Marko Hyvönen, Diego P Morgavi, Dick B Janssen, Florian Hollfelder

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 110 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
110citing papers in PubMed
13.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

110 citing papers in PubMed, 281 citations in OpenAlex.

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50 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Pierre-Yves ColinDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, 80 Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK.
Balint KintsesDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, 80 Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK.
Fabrice GielenDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, 80 Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK.
Charlotte M MitonDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, 80 Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK.
Gerhard FischerDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, 80 Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK.
Mark F MohamedDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, 80 Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK.
Marko HyvönenDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, 80 Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK.
Diego P MorgaviINRA, UMR1213 Herbivores, F-63122 Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3883-0937
Dick B JanssenGroningen Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Florian HollfelderDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, 80 Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1367-6312
University of Cambridge · GBUniversité Clermont Auvergne · FRUniversity of Groningen · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Unculturable bacterial communities provide a rich source of biocatalysts, but their experimental discovery by functional metagenomics is difficult, because the odds are stacked against the experimentor. Here we demonstrate functional screening of a million-membered metagenomic library in microfluidic picolitre droplet compartments. Using bait substrates, new hydrolases for sulfate monoesters and phosphotriesters were identified, mostly based on promiscuous activities presumed not to be under selection pressure. Spanning three protein superfamilies, these break new ground in sequence space: promiscuity now connects enzymes with only distantly related sequences. Most hits could not have been predicted by sequence analysis, because the desired activities have never been ascribed to similar sequences, showing how this approach complements bioinformatic harvesting of metagenomic sequencing data. Functional screening of a library of unprecedented size with excellent assay sensitivity has been instrumental in identifying rare genes constituting catalytically versatile hubs in sequence space as potential starting points for the acquisition of new functions.

Indexed as

MetagenomicsBacteriaBacterial ProteinsEnzymesGene LibraryProtein ConformationSoil MicrobiologyBacterial ProteinsEnzymes

Identifiers

PMID26639611
PMCPMC4686663
OpenAlexW2210738511

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.