New Standard Methods Improve Quality of Microbiomics Data

BOSTON, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Zymo Research Corp. has announced a suite of products that address workflow, from sample collection to data analysis, for microbiomics research. The rapid growth of the study of microbiomes has increased the demand for standard methods to improve the reproducibility and quality of the data being generated. Coupled with the recent announcement by the White House about the formation of the National Microbiome Initiative (NMI) this demand should increase even further. Biases inherently exist at every step of the microbiomic workflow, including collection, extraction, and sequencing techniques. Therefore, there is a great need for the adoption of reference materials and standard methods in order to identify and eliminate measurement bias. To solve that problem, Zymo Research has developed the ZymoBIOMICS^™ workflow suite to aid researchers in obtaining the most accurate and unbiased data from sample collection to analysis.

The suite of ZymoBIOMICS^™ products addresses the complete workflow from sample collection to DNA extraction, from library prep and sequencing through bioinformatics and analysis. Beginning with sample collection, bias can be eliminated using DNA/RNA Shield^™, which preserves nucleic acid samples for up to one month at room temperature while inactivating any pathogens present in the sample.

Community standards are run in parallel with the DNA extraction step. ZymoBIOMICS^™ Microbial Community Standards contain three easy-to-lyse Gram-negative bacteria, five tough-to-lyse Gram-positive bacteria and two tough-to-lyse yeasts. These microbial standards contain less than 0.01% impurities and are accurately characterized, which enable the exposure of artifacts, errors and bias in microbiomics or metagenomics workflows, specifically 16S rRNA and shotgun sequencing. In addition to the microbial standards, Zymo Research offers low-bioburden DNA isolation kits that have an innovative bead and buffer system.

The Library Prep and sequencing workflow step is addressed with ZymoTaq^™, a low-bioburden polymerase and PCR prep-mix preparation. For bioinformatics and analysis, Zymo Research offers ZymoBIOMICS^™ Services for 16S rRNA and metagenomic shotgun sequencing. The services validate data using the ZymoBIOMICS^™ Microbial Community Standards. Services include low-bioburden processing and accurate DNA/RNA isolation using the ZymoBIOMICS^™ products for taxonomic profiling.

To find out more about Zymo Research's ZymoBIOMICS^™ suite of products and/or to get a free sample of ZymoBIOMICS^™ Microbial Community Standards and DNA Mini Kit, go to: https://www.zymoresearch.com/zymobiomics. An on-demand webinar is also available that provides information how reference materials improve the quality of data generated from microbiomic studies. Go to http://www.zymoresearch.com/webinar/microbiomics/standardizing-microbiomics to view.

About Zymo Research Corporation
Zymo Research Corporation is a privately held company based in Irvine, California, USA. Since its inception in 1994 it has been serving the academic and biopharmaceutical scientific communities by providing DNA and RNA purification products. Their goal is to help scientists reduce time in the lab by eliminating steps and making the entire DNA/RNA extraction process simpler and faster. In addition to the nucleic acid purification products, Zymo Research also offers genetic, epigenetic and transcriptome analysis services. Zymo Research provides high quality products that are simple to use yet robust in their performance.

For more information, please visit: www.zymoresearch.com. Follow Zymo Research Corp. on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Zymo Research Corp., the stylized logo, tagline "The Beauty of Science is to Make Things Simple", ZymoBIOMICS, DNA/RNA Shield, and ZymoTaq are trademarks of Zymo Research Corp. and are registered with the USPTO.

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SOURCE Zymo Research Corp.

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