ABSTRACT
The efficient isolation of nucleic acids, especially deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from soil samples, could provide a method to access the entire soil metagenome. Nanopore sequencing is based on the concept that single molecules of DNA could be identified by passing through a tiny channel. The concept of using a nanopore as a biosensor was first proposed in the mid 1990s when research into nanopores was beginning at academic institutions such as Oxford, Harvard and UCSC. Certain porous transmembrane cellular proteins act as nanopores, and nanopores have also been made by etching a somewhat larger hole in a piece of silicon, and then gradually filling it in using ion-beam sculpting methods which results in a much smaller diameter hole: the nanopore. Similar to atomic force microscopy, optical/magnetic tweezers, and fluorescence microscopy, nanopores are taking stage as one of a handful of main tools for exploring individual protein and DNA molecules including metagenome.
