Final answer:
Metagenomics is the science that studies the collective genomes of microbial communities, providing insights into species that may not thrive in lab cultures and their ecological functions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The science of studying genomic fragments from microbial communities, allowing researchers to study genes from a collection of multiple species, is called metagenomics. This field is critical for understanding microbial ecology and the functioning of microbial consortia in various environments, including those that cannot be cultured in the lab. Metagenomics enables the study of the collective genomes of multiple species that grow and interact within an environmental niche, which can be used to rapidly identify new species and analyze environmental impacts such as pollution. With the advancement in sequencing technologies, metagenomics is revolutionizing our understanding of the microbial world by providing insights into uncultured organisms and their roles in ecosystems.