Early metagenomic work (before it was even called that) began in the early 1990's using a single PCR product that was cloned into a bacteriophage and then sequenced on a manual slab gel with radioactive 32P- labeled primers.
When was metagenomics first used?
Metagenomics timeline and milestones.
In the late 1970s, Carl Woese proposed the use of ribosomal RNA genes as molecular markers for life classification (Woese and Fox, 1977).
Who coined metagenomics?
Etymology. The term "metagenomics" was first used by Jo Handelsman, Jon Clardy, Robert M. Goodman, Sean F. Brady, and others, and first appeared in publication in 1998.
