The microbiome is a key factor for the reproducibility of research results. The number of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi exceeds the number of body cells many times over and up to 1000 different species can be detected.
The intestinal microbiome is of crucial importance for a wide range of experimental studies. It is known to influence the physiology and phenotype of experimental animals in many ways. This has been demonstrated for a wide variety of disease models such as diabetes, obesity, chronic inflammation, immunological or neurological diseases.

The microbiome of animals from different breeders can differ significantly even in genetically identical animals and, unlike the genetic profile of the animals, is subject to constant change. Even minor changes in the husbandry of the animals such as stocking density, diet, medication, etc. can have a significant impact on the composition of the microbiome and influence the results of experiments.

Therefore, GVG Diagnostics GmbH has developed a dedicated microbiome analysis program for laboratory animals to generate microbiome profiles in a comprehensive and reproducible way:

 

• This comprises an isolation of genetic material optimized for microbiome studies.
• Subsequent NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) based shotgun sequencing enables a comprehensive analysis of the microbiome and the bacteria, viruses or fungi it contains. Although this method is analytically more complex than the frequently used 16S rRNA method, it is many times more flexible and significantly more informative.
• Subsequently, a comprehensive bioinformatic analysis and statistical evaluation of the data is performed. By using a comprehensive and regularly updated database, a very large number of microorganisms can be identified taxonomically down to species and sub-species level.

Thus, we can provide a comprehensive and accurate microbiome profile of your laboratory animals. The presentation of the results can be adapted to your needs and requirements.