APPLICATIONS · DISEASE AREA · MICROBIOME

From microbial community to host response

Microbiome research has moved from descriptive to functional. Modern programmes need to understand not just who is in the community, but what they are doing, how the host responds, and how an intervention shifts the system.

We measure both sides in one laboratory: sequencing on Element AVITI™ and ultra-sensitive proteomics on NULISA, Simoa and MSD, integrated by the same bioinformatics team.

Talk to a scientist

Request a quote

APPLICATIONS · DISEASE AREA · MICROBIOME

From microbial community to host response

Microbiome research has moved from descriptive to functional. Modern programmes need to understand not just who is in the community, but what they are doing, how the host responds, and how an intervention shifts the system.

We measure both sides in one laboratory: sequencing on Element AVITI™ and ultra-sensitive proteomics on NULISA, Simoa and MSD, integrated by the same bioinformatics team.

Talk to a scientist

Request a quote

APPLICATIONS · DISEASE AREA · MICROBIOME

From microbial community to host response

Microbiome research has moved from descriptive to functional. Modern programmes need to understand not just who is in the community, but what they are doing, how the host responds, and how an intervention shifts the system.

We measure both sides in one laboratory: sequencing on Element AVITI™ and ultra-sensitive proteomics on NULISA, Simoa and MSD, integrated by the same bioinformatics team.

Talk to a scientist

Request a quote

Sequencing and proteomics on the same samples

Sequencing and proteomics on the same samples

Sequencing and proteomics on the same samples

16S, 18S and shotgun metagenomics

16S, 18S and shotgun metagenomics

16S, 18S and shotgun metagenomics

In-house DNA extraction

In-house DNA extraction

In-house DNA extraction

HTA licensed, GCP compliant

HTA licensed, GCP compliant

HTA licensed, GCP compliant

Tell us about your study

Tell us your sample types, your intervention or disease question, and whether you need host response as well as microbial community. We will define the sequencing and proteomics approach and quote it in writing within one working day.

Send us your study details

WHY IT MATTERS

The microbiome is only half the story

Knowing community composition is no longer enough. Modern microbiome programmes need to connect two sides of the biology.

The microbial side

Community composition, functional capacity and gene expression.

The host side

Inflammatory response, immune signalling and mucosal biology.

The real insight comes from seeing both together, and how each changes in response to disease, therapy, diet or another intervention. A shift in community composition with no host response is a very different finding from the same shift with a measurable inflammatory change.

That requires sequencing, proteomics and bioinformatics to work as one coordinated workflow. Split across three providers – with different sample handling, QC criteria and batch structures – linking results sample by sample becomes difficult, and sometimes impossible.

We run all three in one laboratory.

That requires sequencing, proteomics and bioinformatics to work as one coordinated workflow. Split across three providers – with different sample handling, QC criteria and batch structures – linking results sample by sample becomes difficult, and sometimes impossible.

We run all three in one laboratory.

what we measure

From community structure to biological function

1. Characterise the microbial community

2. Resolve gene activity and genomic context

3. Measure the host response

4. Integrate the datasets

Talk to a scientist

Sample types

Microbial samples we extract in-house

Host response samples

A note on stool

Pre-extracted material

Collection, stabilisation, storage and shipping

  • Stool and faecal samples

  • Oral samples, including saliva and swabs

  • Skin swabs and tape strips

  • Mucosal lavage and biopsy

  • Environmental matrices where a study requires them

Microbial samples we extract in-house

Host response samples

A note on stool

Pre-extracted material

Collection, stabilisation, storage and shipping

  • Stool and faecal samples

  • Oral samples, including saliva and swabs

  • Skin swabs and tape strips

  • Mucosal lavage and biopsy

  • Environmental matrices where a study requires them

Typical applications

Therapeutic and intervention studies

Disease biology

Cross-system microbiome biology

  • Live biotherapeutic product pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies

  • Diet, drug or supplement intervention studies

  • Faecal microbiota transplant trial monitoring

Therapeutic and intervention studies

Disease biology

Cross-system microbiome biology

  • Live biotherapeutic product pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies

  • Diet, drug or supplement intervention studies

  • Faecal microbiota transplant trial monitoring

WHY microbiome

One study. Multiple biological layers.

Microbial characterisation

Establish community composition, functional capacity and, where required, strain-level resolution.

Host-response profiling

Measure inflammatory, immune and mucosal signals on the proteomics platform matched to the sensitivity and breadth the study needs.

Multi-omic integration

Bring sequencing and proteomics together through disease- and intervention-specific bioinformatics.

Designed as one programme from the start.

Designed as one programme from the start.

The practical detail

Turnaround

Proteomics is two weeks from sample receipt. Sequencing is 2 to 3 weeks, because we prepare the libraries and library type and depth move the timeline. Where a study runs both, the integrated dataset lands on the longer of the two. DNA extraction is included in that time and in the quote

Quote

Within one working day

Up to 1,000-fold greater than conventional ELISA.

Femtogram-per-millilitre for many targets.

SR-X performance figures confirmed per assay at scoping

Sample confirmation

Receipt and condition confirmed within two working days, before anything is consumed

Receipt and condition confirmed within two working days, before anything is consumed

Sequencing approaches

16S rRNA, 18S rRNA, shotgun metagenomics, RNA sequencing, whole genome sequencing

16S rRNA, 18S rRNA, shotgun metagenomics, RNA sequencing, whole genome sequencing

Extraction

Performed in-house. Pre-extracted DNA accepted with method confirmation

Performed in-house. Pre-extracted DNA accepted with method confirmation

Host response platforms

NULISA, Simoa and MSD, all in the same laboratory as the sequencing

NULISA, Simoa and MSD, all in the same laboratory as the sequencing

Reference databases

SILVA, RDP or NCBI, chosen with you

SILVA, RDP or NCBI, chosen with you

Cohort size

Dozens to tens of thousands of samples

Dozens to tens of thousands of samples

Quality framework

HTA licence 12818. GCP-compliant workflows. Aligned to ISO 15189

HTA licence 12818. GCP-compliant workflows. Aligned to ISO 15189

Regulatory status

For research use only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures

Regulatory status

For research use only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures

For research use only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures

Microbe and host, measured side by side

Sequencing on our own Element AVITI, host proteomics on NULISA, Simoa and MSD, and bioinformatics by the same team – all in one laboratory, under one chain of custody.


Microbial and host data come from the same participants, on the same timeline, with the same QC – so you can link a change in the community directly to a change in the host. DNA extraction is included, and nothing is outsourced.

We run Simoa on the SR-X alongside NULISA, MSD and sequencing.

All of them are ours, so the recommendation you get is a scientific one. If your target is better served by NULISA or MSD we will say so, and the work stays with us either way.



Homebrew development means we are not limited to the catalogue.


Where no commercial Simoa assay exists for your target, we can build one.

THE ALTHEOME DIFFERENCE

Why microbiome programmes work with us

Both sides of the system, one laboratory

Extraction in-house

Ultra-sensitive host measurement

Mucosal matrices

Analysis by the people who ran it

Speed

Sequencing and ultra-sensitive proteomics on the same samples, matched at sample level within one QC framework.

Talk to a scientist

THE ALTHEOME DIFFERENCE

Why microbiome programmes work with us

Both sides of the system, one laboratory

Extraction in-house

Ultra-sensitive host measurement

Mucosal matrices

Analysis by the people who ran it

Speed

Sequencing and ultra-sensitive proteomics on the same samples, matched at sample level within one QC framework.

Talk to a scientist

THE ALTHEOME DIFFERENCE

Why microbiome programmes work with us

Both sides of the system, one laboratory

Extraction in-house

Ultra-sensitive host measurement

Mucosal matrices

Analysis by the people who ran it

Speed

Sequencing and ultra-sensitive proteomics on the same samples, matched at sample level within one QC framework.

Talk to a scientist

Tell us about your programme

Send us your sample types, your intervention or disease question, and whether you need host response alongside microbial community.

A senior scientist will define the approach and quote it in writing.

Talk to a scientist

Request a quote

You will hear from us within one working day.

You will hear from us within one working day.

Related plataforms
Related matrices
Related capabilities
Related research areas
Related disease areas

Still curious? Find answers in our FAQ's.

FAQ page

Related plataforms
Related matrices
Related capabilities
Related research areas
Related disease areas

Still curious? Find answers in our FAQ's.

FAQ page