Metatranscriptomics
Technologies
profiling of community-wide gene expression
RNA-seq for identification of both taxonomic composition and active biochemical functions.
Metatranscriptomics
While metagenomics reveals which microbes are present and what potential they have, metatranscriptomics disclose their activity by identifying genes that are expressed in a particular microbial environment.
Unbiased RNA-seq enables annotation and quantification of transcripts giving:
- insights in the gene activity diversity and functional/pathway diversity by detecting how many genes are expressed in a community across all species
- estimates of gene expression abundances - detects the highest expressed genes in a specific environmental condition, thus identifying the most important functionality/pathway required to survive. Note that high sequencing depth is required to detect lower expressed genes
- opportunity for biomarker discovery by performing a differential gene expression analysis, i.e. assessing changes in expression levels between different conditions
Tailored consultancy
For every project we want to make sure that the outcome will meet your expectations
Ribosomal RNA depletion is performed for the efficient use of RNA-seq capacity for all samples. Upon depletion, cDNA library is synthesized, samples are index barcoded and pooled for sequencing. Bioinformatics analysis is directed to determine relative abundance of transcripts/enzymes and pathways for each community. Novel transcripts are assembled and differential expression analysis of different communities is performed in order to identify differentially represented pathways across experimental groups.
For all applications final results are delivered in a comprehensive report in addition to raw data and summary of the methods followed. We provide full support on study design to ensure correct sequencing and bioinformatics strategies are used to meet your project goals. Our expert will consult with you about your specific requirements. Sample RNA extraction can be part of our workflow.
Our comprehensive sequencing and bioinformatics analysis services are tailored to your research needs. Choose between receiving raw demultiplexed sequences or a complete bioinformatics analysis with the following key deliverables:
Raw Reads Service
- Raw Reads with Quality Control Reports: sequencing data in FASTQ format along with detailed quality control reports.
Complete Bioinformatics Service
- De Novo Metatranscriptome Assembly: assembled metatranscriptomes in FASTA format.
- Taxonomic classification: Accurate assignment from domain to species level
- Predicted Genes and Protein Translations: predicted genes and their corresponding protein translations in both FASTA and GFF formats, enabling detailed functional analysis.
- Functional Annotations: Comprehensive data on gene functions and pathways.
- Expression Tables: raw and normalized expression values for microbial functions quantifying and compareing gene expression levels across samples.
- Differential expression analysis of different communities: identification of differentially represented pathways across experimental groups
Enhance your microbiome research with our metatranscriptomics analysis services. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you uncover the functional mysteries of microbial communities.