Microbial Diversity Analysis of the Biofilms

Introduction to Biofilm Microorganisms

Microbial Diversity in the Biofilms

Biofilms refer to the bacterial communities that attach to surfaces. They contribute to the wellbeing and resilience of ecosystems via their important roles in biogeochemical cycling, their interactions with each other and their provision of chemicals. Although aquatic biofilms are important to the health of marine ecosystems, they also cause deleterious outcomes like biocorrosion, biofouling and antibiotic resistance. When it comes to human health, microbes can form biofilms on any surface in the human body and cause resistance to antimicrobial agents, triggering persistent and chronic bacterial infections. Biofilm infections have sharply come into prominence in the last few decades. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a powerful tool when studying the biofilm microbiomes. Genomic studies have revealed the complexity and diversity of the biofilms.

Request a Quote

Accelerate Research and Practice in Microbial Diversity in Biofilms

We provide advanced genomics methods to explore the microbial diversity and structure of biofilm samples, and discover previously undetected microbial species and predict their roles in biofilm formation, human health or environments. Our solutions include real-time PCR, 16S/18S/ITS sequencing, metagenomics, metatranscriptomics and powerful bioinformatics analysis. Based on Illumina Hiseq/Miseq, PacBio and Oxford nanopore sequencing platforms, we are dedicated to ensuring an accurate & comprehensive microbial profiling and elaborate bioinformatics analysis pipeline with standardized laboratory methods.

The Main Directions

Exploration of microbial diversity and structure of biofilms
Functional core analysis and discovery of persistent and distinct functional cores
Studies of community succession and microbe-host interactions
Diagnosis and treatment of different biofilm infections

What Can We Do?

1. Identification of biofilm microorganisms and taxonomic profiling
2. Quantitation of biofilm microorganisms
3. Functional core analysis and exploration of novel functional potential

Note: our service is for research use only, not for diagnosis.

Detectable Objects

Artificial biofilms, marine microbial biofilms and other biofilms on any surface.

Detectable Microorganisms

Archaea, bacteria, eukaryotes, etc.

Technical Platforms

We are equipped with Illumina Hiseq/Miseq, PacBio Sequel, Oxford MinION^TM, Oxford GridION^TM, PCR-DGGE (PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis), real-time qPCR, clone library and other platforms.

Sample Requirement

1. DNA sample: DNA ≥ 300 ng, concentration ≥ 10 ng/ul, OD_260/280 = 1.8 - 2.0
2. Make sure the DNA is intact and non-degraded, avoiding repeated freezing and thawing cycles.
3. Please prepare enough dry ice or ice packs to ensure low temperature during sample delivery.

Workflow

Figure 1. High throughput sequencing analysis process

Figure 2. PCR-DGGE analysis process

Bioinformatics Analysis

Our bioinformatics analysis pipeline is flexible to your needs.

Basic Analysis	Routine Analysis (According to Customer Requirements)	Advanced Data Analysis
Read QC	Heatmap	Phylogenetic Tree
Sequence Length Distribution	VENN	Functional Core Analysis
OTU Clustering and Taxonomic Profiling	Principal Components Analysis (PCA)	LDA-Effect Size (LEfSe)
Diversity Index	Microbial Community Structure Analysis	Network Analysis
Shannon-Wiener Curve	α Diversity Index Analysis	Correlation Analysis
Rank-Abundance Curve	Matastats Analysis
Rarefraction Curve	Weighted Unifrac test
Multiple Contrast	CCA/RDA
Heatmap
Principal Components Analysis (PCA)

References

Zhang W, Ding W, Li Y X, et al. Marine biofilms constitute a bank of hidden microbial diversity and functional potential. Nature communications, 2019, 10(1): 517.
Sauer K. The genomics and proteomics of biofilm formation. Genome biology, 2003, 4(6): 219.
Bjarnsholt T. The role of bacterial biofilms in chronic infections. Apmis, 2013, 121: 1-58.

* For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures or other clinical purposes.