Microba and Illumina partner to advance microbiome research

Brisbane biotech Microba Life Sciences, a specialist in precision gut microbiome science, has partnered with DNA sequencing company Illumina to advance understanding of the human gut microbiome in human health and disease. The partnership will bring together Microba’s proprietary gut microbiome analysis platform with Illumina’s next-generation sequencing tools to generate the metagenomic data researchers require to make new discoveries.

Focusing activities in Asia Pacific and Japan, the duo will work together to enable research studies that reveal connections between the microbiome and human health from mental health and Parkinson’s disease to nutrition and sleep. The companies say such projects wouldn’t be possible without access to the high-resolution data that Illumina’s methodology enables, combined with Microba’s analysis.

Microba CEO Blake Wills said the partnership will further accelerate the adoption of gut microbiome profiling for research into human disease, as there remains “huge potential for research to enhance our understanding of the role the gut microbiome plays in health and disease states”.

“Combining Microba’s deep analysis capability with Illumina’s advanced technology, this potential is being realised,” he added.

Illumina Vice President and General Manager of Asia Pacific and Japan Gretchen Weightman explained that by working together the companies could rapidly deliver insights and the accessibility of gut microbiome analysis.

“With genomic sequencing at the forefront of understanding human health, the partnership will aim to explore and demonstrate potential applications of gut microbiome profiling by combining Illumina’s established credibility and global reach in NGS with Microba’s progressive analytical services,” she said.

With current projects including The University of Queensland exploring treatments for Parkinson’s disease and Deakin University’s Food & Mood Centre assessing the value of faecal microbiome transplants (FMT) to treat depression, it’s expected that the partnership will increase the uptake of high-quality microbiome research to enable new discoveries.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/nobeastsofierce

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