Microbiome Metadata Standards: Report of the National Microbiome Data Collaborative’s Workshop and Follow-On Activities
Pajau Vangay, Josephine Burgin, Anjanette Johnston, Kristen L. Beck, Daniel C. Berrios, Kai Blumberg, Shane Canon, Patrick Chain, John‐Marc Chandonia, Danielle Christianson, Sylvain V. Costes, Joan Damerow, William D. Duncan, José Pablo Dundore-Arias, Kjiersten Fagnan, Jonathan M. Galazka, Sean M. Gibbons, D. Hays, W. Judson Hervey, Bin Hu, Bonnie L. Hurwitz, Pankaj Jaiswal, Marcin P. Joachimiak, Linda L. Kinkel, Joshua Ladau, Stanton Martin, Lee Ann McCue, Kayd Miller, Nigel J. Mouncey, Chris Mungall, Evangelos Pafilis, T. B. K. Reddy, Lorna Richardson, Simon Roux, Lynn M. Schriml, Justin P. Shaffer, Jagadish Chandrabose Sundaramurthi, Luke Thompson, Ruth Timme, Jie Zheng, Elisha M. Wood‐Charlson, Emiley A. Eloe‐Fadrosh
Abstract
Microbiome samples are inherently defined by the environment in which they are found. Therefore, data that provide context and enable interpretation of measurements produced from biological samples, often referred to as metadata, are critical. Important contributions have been made in the development of community-driven metadata standards; however, these standards have not been uniformly embraced by the microbiome research community. To understand how these standards are being adopted, or the barriers to adoption, across research domains, institutions, and funding agencies, the National Microbiome Data Collaborative (NMDC) hosted a workshop in October 2019. This report provides a summary of discussions that took place throughout the workshop, as well as outcomes of the working groups initiated at the workshop.