CosmosID Launches Accurate and Easy Functional Microbiome Analysis with New Software Platform, CosmosID-HUB: Microbiome

GERMANTOWN, Md., Sept. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A complete analysis of the microbiome should combine taxonomic profiling ("who is there?") with functional characterization ("what are they doing?") to discover the capabilities of an entire community of microorganisms. But research teams often require specialized training and extensive computational infrastructure to establish an in-house suite of tools for processing shotgun metagenomic data – and even with the right know-how, the processing can be both time-consuming and challenging.

CosmosID®, known for the most accurate, multi-kingdom, strain level taxonomic profiling technology, has added a functional analysis module to its popular online user-interface, renamed 'CosmosID-HUB: Microbiome'. Now, in addition to microbiome sequencing services out of its Germantown, MD, laboratory, its industry-leading team of bioinformaticians and software developers, has unveiled a suite of new features for seamless analysis of the genomic potential of microbial communities:

• Direct links from the platform to MetaCyc and GO terms databases.
• Data import via direct upload, Illumina BaseSpace & automated SRA import from NCBI with analysis speeds up to 19X faster than open-source tools.
• Find your organism or gene/pathway of interest with search functions, exportable charts & visualizations.
• Comparative analysis software, complete with dynamic charts, graphs, and statistical significance testing.
• Easy-to-navigate user interface OR command-line access.
• Applicable to almost any sample type
• Applicable to both metagenomic and metatranscriptomics data

"Knowing the combined genomic potential of a microbial community is proving indispensable for practical applications of translational microbiome science," says CosmosID CEO, Manoj Dadlani. "This cutting edge, accurate, easy and fast functional analysis feature is part of our ongoing mission to provide everything researchers need to complete their end-to-end microbiome analysis and lower the barrier to entry for those interested in the field."

The updated web application is part of CosmosID's microbial genomics platform, CosmosID-HUB, which is continually expanding with various apps and modules for analyzing microbial communities and for inferring translational and actionable microbiome insights. Currently, CosmosID-HUB: Microbiome provides options for discovering antimicrobial resistance and virulence markers, microbial taxa (composition) and function whereas CosmosID-HUB: COVID-19 is a separate module for detecting the presence of COVID-19 and characterizing variants of concern/interest in both clinical and wastewater specimens. Researchers have the flexibility to access and pay for the type of analysis they require. Soon, CosmosID-HUB will include a revolutionary web application for microbiome multi-dimensional feature testing and multi-omics analysis.

"With our extensive experience in microbiome analysis for both human, animal and environmental samples, we are pleased to offer researchers new tools to build capacity within their own teams," says Dadlani. "We plan to expand CosmosID-HUB continually with the latest tools to enable both taxonomic and functional analysis of microbiomes."

In addition to strain-level resolution enabled by its curated databases of over 170,000 genomes and gene sequences, CosmosID® also offers next-generation sequencing services. To date, the company has demonstrated its best-in-class technology and won three different challenges for its detection accuracy, including both PrecisionFDA challenges as well as the Janssen/DNAnexus Mosaic 'Strain' challenge.

For more information or to set up a free account on the CosmosID-HUB: Microbiome platform, see: https://www.cosmosid.com/bioinformatics-services/metagenomics-app

About CosmosID®

CosmosID® provides end-to-end solutions unlocking the microbiome. A provider of CLIA-certified & ICH-GCP compliant NGS Services and Bioinformatics Solutions, CosmosID offers a range of validated and optimized workflows for a range of applications including pharmaceutical R&D, infectious disease diagnostics, environmental testing, microbiome research, animal health, cosmetics & personal care as well as many more.

CosmosID also offers independently validated, industry-leading pipelines for processing metagenomic data, yielding multi-kingdom, strain-level resolution with leading sensitivity and precision as well as functional characterization.

Media Contact:
Vickie Lord
703-995-9879
[email protected]

SOURCE CosmosID