Microbes are all around us. Scientists have been trying to find and sequence each microbe's DNA for a long time now, but because many of the microbes will not grow in the lab, many of their DNA sequences are unknown. These un-sequenced organisms are known as “microbial dark matter.” Three years ago, microbiologist Tonja Woyke developed a new technique to sequence the genome of one cell.  Before this new technique was developed, determining a cell's DNA sequence required many copies of the sample DNA. Using Woyke’s technique, only one cell’s DNA is needed, which is a huge break through in the creation of a family tree for microbes.

Woyke’s team collected samples from nine habitats, which included an ocean hydrothermal vent and the inside of a reactor used to degrade plastic byproducts. The research team was able to single out and sequence 201 cells. What the microbes ate and how they were able to survive in their unique environments were discovered using the sequenced genomes. Many microbes utilized hydrogen as a food source, while a few others used sulfur to create energy. The genomic information was used to name 18 phyla and a few superphyla.

The newly constructed family tree makes it easier for researchers to make sense of other DNA that they collect form the environment because there is more reference DNA to compare it to.  The new sequencing technique will help such analyses to improve by up to 20%.

Woyke’s findings are being called a “landmark” and “very important” by microbial ecologist Jack Gilbert of the University of Chicago in Illinois. Researchers are hoping to use this newly found information to find ways to grow the microbes in their labs. Meanwhile, Woyke and her team plan on continuing to sequence as many more microbes as possible to continue to fill in the microbial family tree because what she has done so far is only “a drop in a bucket” of all the genomes that need to still be sequenced.