how to measure microbiome?
how to measure microbiome?
There is a lot of buzz around the microbiome these days. But what is it, and how can you measure it?
The microbiome is all of the microbes that live in and on your body. It’s made up of bacteria, viruses, and fungi, as well as their genetic material. The microbiome has been linked to everything from obesity to autism, so measuring it has become a hot topic in research. There are several ways to measure the microbiome. One is to sequence the DNA of all the microbes present. This can be done by sampling saliva, skin, feces, or another body fluid. Another approach is to use culture-based methods to grow specific types of bacteria in a lab and then count them. Both of these methods have their drawbacks. DNA sequencing is expensive and can be time-consuming. And culture-based methods often miss small populations of bacteria that don’t grow well in a lab setting. A new method called metagenomics takes a different approach. It uses a computer algorithm to analyze all the genetic material present in a sample, including both bacteria and viruses. This approach is much faster and cheaper than DNA sequencing, and it can identify smaller populations of bacteria that are missed by other methods.