The integrated mouse gut metagenome catalog (iMGMC), comprising 4.6 million unique genes and 660 high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) linked to reconstructed full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences

The vast complexity of host-associated microbial ecosystems requires generation of host-specific reference catalogs to survey the functions and diversity of these communities. We generated a comprehensive resource, the integrated mouse gut metagenome catalog (iMGMC), comprising 4.6 million unique genes and 660 high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) linked to reconstructed full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences . iMGMC enables unprecedented coverage and taxonomic resolution, i.e. more than 89% of the identified taxa are not represented in any other databases (<95% ANI match). The tool (github.com/tillrobin/iMGMC) allowed characterizing the diversity and functions of prevalent and previously unknown microbial community members along the gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, we show that integration of MAGs and 16S rRNA gene data allows a more accurate prediction of functional profiles of communities than based on 16S rRNA amplicons alone. Accompyaning to iMGMC we assembled 871 samples and obtained 20,927 MAGs representing 1296 gut bacteria. Integrated gene catalogs such as iMGMC together with MAG collections enhance the resolution of numerous existing and future sequencing-based studies.