Figure 3.

Schematic representation of sample handling options for metagenomic studies. One strategy is to concentrated (often after pre‐filtration to remove larger eukaryotic organisms), and the total DNA or RNA extracted for shotgun or large‐insert library construction. A second strategy is to enrich the sample for a particular community member through specific culturing techniques or through FACS. Most recently, single cell approaches are being attempted to clone and sequence the uncultured majority (Figure courtesy of Tanja Woyke, DOE Joint Genome Institute).