Helixio, microbial diversity analysis service provider
The study of the microbiome by sequencing has advanced our understanding of microbial diversity in many fields, including human and animal health, biotechnology, agriculture, food and environmental science.
Due to their great diversity and complexity, the identification and quantification of microbiota are essential steps to understand their effects in different biological situations.
Regardless of the microorganisms present (bacteria, archaea, fungi, viruses and others), high-throughput sequencing now allows us to explore the microbiota with high resolution.
We offer different protocols adapted to the nature of your samples and the objectives of your study, including for very small amounts of DNA or RNA. We support you in choosing the most suitable solution for your project.
- Metabarcoding - Sequencing of amplicons (16S, 18S, ITS)
Reveal the composition of your microbial communities
Metabarcoding is based on the targeted amplification of conserved genetic regions, such as the 16S gene for bacteria and archaea, the 18S for eukaryotes or the ITS regions for fungi. More specific amplicons can also be developed according to your needs, and Helixio supports you in their design.
Metabarcoding is a fast and targeted solution to study the diversity of microbial communities. Although it generates less data than shotgun metagenomics, it offers excellent sensitivity for taxonomic characterization of samples.
Metabarcoding data analyses include microorganism taxonomic assignment, community comparison (OTU/ASV), alpha and beta diversity indices, differential analyses as well as visualization of microbial profiles.
- Shotgun metagenomics
Reveal the full potential of your microbiomes
Shotgun metagenomics involves sequencing all the DNA present in an environmental or biological sample.
This approach provides a comprehensive view of microbial diversity and allows simultaneous access to taxonomic and functional information.
Shotgun metagenomics allows the identification of microorganisms present with high resolution, down to species and strain level according to sequencing depth, while providing access to taxonomic and functional information on microbial communities.
The analyses include taxonomic assignment, abundance estimation, prediction of metabolic pathways, detection of genes of interest (antibiotic resistance, virulence factors, etc.) and comparative analyses between samples.
- Metatranscriptomics
Discover the active biological functions of your microbiomes
Metatranscriptomics is based on the sequencing of expressed RNAs in order to characterize genes actively transcribed within microbial communities. Unlike metagenomics, which describes functional potential, it reveals the functions actually mobilized under given conditions.
Metatranscriptomics allows us to study the response of microbiota to their environment, the interactions between microorganisms and the activity of the main metabolic pathways. It is a tool of choice for understanding the dynamic functioning of microbial ecosystems.
The analyses include gene expression profiles, active biological functions, expressed metabolic pathways, differential expression analyses and activity comparisons between experimental conditions.
For data analysis, such as taxonomic assignment, microbial genome reconstruction, identification of genes of interest or prediction of metabolic functions, consult our page dedicated to bioinformatics!