The transition to a sustainable bio-based circular economy requires cutting edge technologies that ensure economic growth with environmentally responsible action. This transition will only be feasible when the opportunities of digitalization are also exploited. Digital methods and big data handling have already found their way into life sciences and generally offer huge potential in various research areas. While computational analyses of microbial metagenome data have become state of the art, the true potential of bioinformatics remains mostly untapped so far. In this article we present challenges and opportunities of digitalization including multi-omics approaches in discovering and exploiting the microbial diversity of the planet with the aim to identify robust biocatalysts for application in sustainable bioprocesses as part of the transition from a fossil-based to a bio-based circular economy. This will contribute to solving global challenges, including utilization of natural resources, food supply, health, energy and the environment.

中文翻译：

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微生物学数字化——为可持续循环生物经济铺平道路

向可持续的生物循环经济过渡需要尖端技术，通过对环境负责的行动确保经济增长。这种转变只有在数字化机会也得到利用的情况下才可行。数字方法和大数据处理已经进入生命科学领域，并且在各个研究领域普遍具有巨大潜力。虽然微生物宏基因组数据的计算分析已成为最先进的技术，但生物信息学的真正潜力迄今为止仍未被开发。在本文中，我们提出了数字化的挑战和机遇，包括发现和利用地球微生物多样性的多组学方法，目的是确定用于可持续生物过程的强大生物催化剂，作为从基于化石到生物的过渡的一部分。 ——基于循环经济。这将有助于解决全球挑战，包括自然资源的利用、食品供应、健康、能源和环境。