Microbiome research relies heavily on DNA sequencing to identify and characterize microbes within a particular environment. For a long-time, this has primarily involved massive sequencing using short-reads (150-300 bases); however, recent developments in DNA sequencing have led to sequencing of...
Entries by Ruairi Robertson, PhD
Microbiome research has revealed the huge microbial diversity within the human body and the environment. The human gut alone contains thousands of species of bacteria, not to mention other microbes such as fungi and archaea. Each of these species can have a different function within the human body...
Microbiome research relies on accurate identification and classification of thousands of microbial species in a single biological sample. To date, this has largely been conducted using amplicon sequencing, such as 16S rRNA gene sequencing for the identification of bacteria and archaea. However,...
Are you a company, lab or researcher planning a new microbiome study? If so, you are probably considering whether to conduct 16S rRNA gene sequencing or shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Although 16S rRNA gene sequencing has been more commonly used for microbiome studies to date, shotgun metagenomics...
16S rRNA sequencing has been used extensively in microbiome research to identify the composition of bacteria and archaea within a wide variety of microbiomes from the human gut to the Amazon rainforest.
In this guide, we will explore the principles and applications of 16S rRNA sequencing, including...
Next-generation sequencing is a hugely powerful tool in microbiome science to study what microbes and microbial genes are within a certain environment. This has led to major advances in our understanding of human health, environmental science and basic biology. However, next-generation sequencing...
Before conducting a microbiome study with shotgun metagenomic sequencing, it is important to consider how deeply you will sequence your samples.
Human microbiome research has exploded over the past decade, revealing the fascinating influence of our bodily microbes on human health and disease from gut health to skin health to brain health. To date, however, a majority of human microbiome studies have been cross-sectional, analysing...
Cultivation-independent microbiome research frequently requires the study of microbial DNA via its isolation and sequencing. However, microbes can vary by size, shape and morphology making their DNA easier or more difficult to isolate. This can lead to differences in microbiome results, depending...
In the past 30 days, nearly half of all US children and adults will have taken a prescription drug. In fact, prescription drug use is increasing in many countries. Although microbiome research has uncovered exciting ways that your gut microbes respond to diet, less is known about their interaction...