Why shotgun metagenomics rather than amplicon sequencing?+
Amplicon methods such as 16S or ITS read only a single marker gene, so they capture one group at a time and stop at genus or species level. Shotgun metagenomics reads all DNA in the sample at once: bacteria, fungi, archaea and viruses together, with species-level resolution and functional gene information. It is the more complete picture of soil biology.
How do you sequence the samples?+
We use shotgun metagenomic next-generation sequencing, which reads all DNA in the sample at once for species-level identification across the whole community. Our in-house workflow returns results within 5 business days of sample receipt.
How long do results take?+
5 business days from when we receive your sample at our laboratory.
What do the reports include?+
Interactive reports with taxonomic composition, diversity indices, functional annotation and, where relevant, pathogen screening results. Reports are delivered through a cloud portal where you can explore and compare samples over time.
Do you support research and custom projects?+
Yes. We design bespoke experiments, develop custom primers and build specialised bioinformatics pipelines for academic and commercial research teams.
