Microbiome Profiling of Animal Models

Monitor your facility´s microbiome

The microbiota is a variable that can severely influence results from animal studies.

Animal models are essential for research and development in many fields of science. To obtain correct results in animal studies, detailed characterization and control of the animal’s phenotype are necessary. Developments in recent years have shown that the composition of the gut microbiota is a variable that can influence animals’ phenotypes, and in turn, severely alter study results.

Independent lineage of animals, both those bred in the same facility and those purchased from a vendor, display strong differences in their microbial communities. To control for this source of variation, it is necessary to monitor the animal’s microbiome.

Microbiome screening options

What cannot be controlled must be monitored – We are here to help you do just that!

Several techniques have been described for standardization of the microbiota in animal models, and such approaches are key to ensuring reproducibility of findings and avoiding erroneous conclusions in studies where the microbiota can severely influence the results. For studies implementing such
techniques, it is necessary to ensure that the intended homogenization is archived. Our microbiome profiling service allows you to evaluate and document the standardization obtained from established protocols and to
monitor cross-generational and cage-specific microbiome profiles in the process of establishing your technique.

Factors influencing microbiome compositions

The factors influencing microbiome compositions are endless. Major sources of variation include vendor, strain, age, diet, single vs pair vs group-housed, type of bedding, recent transportation, health status, antimicrobial usage, and water source. It is impossible to remove all sources of variation. What cannot be controlled, must be monitored, and we are here to help you do just that.

At Biomcare, we are experts in microbiome data processing and biostatistical analysis. When you work with us to monitor your facility, we ensure that your data is maintained and organized for easy comparisons across time, animals, and studies. We work together to ensure a sample and information flow that suits your facility.

Partnering with Biomcare

Standardized workflow for microbiome profiling.

When you engage with Biomcare to monitor the microbiome of your animal facility, we establish a workflow that becomes part of your routine. You never again have to understand new processes for storage, shipment, labeling, data retrieval, and so forth. Obtaining microbiome profiles becomes easy and, importantly, all your data is stored and maintained by Biomcare, allowing for easy comparison of any samples ever profiled.

We use the latest reference databases and process all data with the best software used within the international bioinformatics community

Biomcare handles all data processing from raw data to microbiome profiles, using our standardized workflows. It is our job to know the software, evaluate data quality, and when updated solutions are available, reanalyze all your data so that you always have a fully up-to-date data set, annotated with the latest reference databases and processed with the best opensource software.

Opensource software pipelines

At Biomcare we believe in transparency. All our pipelines are built with open source software and freely available reference databases. This is a cornerstone for research and allows you to easily include data and results from Biomcare in your publications.

We are actively engaged in research and when new software has been thoroughly tested and is becoming the new gold standard in the international bioinformatics community, we start implementing it into
our pipelines, thereby keeping at the forefront of developments without jumping ahead with untested solutions.

All data in one place

We know how difficult it is to keep track of projects in an active research unit. Often, data generated for previous projects is not accessible for new projects. The data might be lost with changing staff, or incompatible due to differences in sampling, sequencing, or processing protocols and providers.

When working with Biomcare,  standardization ensures compatibility and our collected data storage ensures all data is ready for effective cross-sample comparisons, so that the microbiome of new mice can easily be compared to animals that arrived from that vendor last month or last year.

Microbiome experts at hand

Working with Biomcare means that you always have a microbiome expert at hand, to ask your questions, whether it is about  sampling, project planning or interpretation of results.

In summary

When partnering with Biomcare we become your microbiome department. A one-contact point for all you need to monitor the
microbiome profiles of your study animals and implement microbiome insight in your studies.

• Consultancy on sampling, project planning and results interpretation
• DNA extraction and microbiome sequencing using NGS solutions
• Data quality evaluation and processing
• Biostatistical analysis
• Data storage and handling