Standardizing Microbiomics Workflows - Removing Bias in Collection, Purification and Analyses

The rapid growth of microbiomics has increased the demand for standard methods to improve the reproducibility and quality of the data being generated. Therefore, there is a need for reference materials for the development, evaluation, calibration, and validation of complex microbiomics workflows encompassing sample collection, sample preparation, and analyses. Standardization of the following methods would greatly improve the quality of data generated: (1) sample collection tools that can reliably provide a molecular snapshot at the time of collection by stabilizing the nucleic acids at ambient temperature and by rendering the sample noninfectious for safe transport; (2) purification methodologies that eliminate biases associated with differential lysis efficiency of the organisms being processed (e.g. gram-negative/positive bacteria, fungus, viruses, and associated spores); (3) analytical pipelines that reduce bias introduced in library preparation processes and bioinformatics analyses (e.g. GC content, log difference organism abundances, detection limit, and ability to distinguish closely related organisms). To address these fundamental challenges, the scientists at Zymo Research have created microbiome reference materials and used them to develop the most accurate tools for microbiomics studies.