ESM Metagenomic Atlas: The first view of the 'dark matter' of the protein universe

Proteins are complex and dynamic molecules, encoded by our genes, that are responsible for many of the varied and fundamental processes of life. They have an astounding range of roles in biology. The rods and cones in our eyes that sense light and make it possible for us to see, the molecular sensors that underlie hearing and our sense of touch, the complex molecular machines that convert sunlight into chemical energy in plants, the motors that drive motion in microbes and our muscles, enzymes that break down plastic, antibodies that protect us from disease, and molecular circuits that cause disease when they fail -- are all proteins. Metagenomics, one of the new frontiers in the natural sciences, uses gene sequencing to discover proteins in samples from environments across the earth, from microbes living in the soil, deep in the ocean, in extreme environments like hydrothermal vents, and even in our guts and on our skin. The natural world contains a vast number of proteins beyond the ones that have been cataloged and annotated in well-studied organisms.