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Microbiome Sequencing

Fast, species-level profiling for every microbial community.

Microbiome PDP Update

Rethink your microbiome workflow

Most microbiome studies still depend on large batched sequencing runs that take weeks and only resolve to the genus level. Plasmidsaurus Microbiome Sequencing offers more agile options to accelerate your research: 

 

  1. Full-length 16S, 18S, or ITS reads with species-level classification, delivered as quickly as overnight
  2. Comprehensive shotgun metagenomics (now in beta) for a complete genomic picture of your microbial community

 

Designed for speed, precision, and flexibility, Plasmidsaurus microbiome sequencing services are ideal for uncovering microbial drivers of human health and disease, monitoring environmental communities, and understanding how experimental biomes respond to stimuli. No matter your research question, we provide the high-resolution data you need, fast.

Microbiome 1

Confirm what's in your community

Confirm your system has the expected species diversity before starting your experiment, with insights direct from raw samples, genomic DNA, or PCR amplicons.

Rapid results

Monitor with rapid results

Easily monitor your microbial communities over time, across locations, and in response to stimuli, with taxonomic classification as fast as overnight.

Microbiome 3

Discover with species-level clarity

Precisely identify microbial species that traditional microbiome sequencing sequencing can’t resolve. Discover what species are present and in what relative abundances.

Which service is right for me?

Sample input

Extracted environmental DNA OR raw samples such as soil, feces or swabs (within US only)

Ideal for

Exploring the bacteria and archaea composition of samples with high-host (e.g. human) DNA

Service levels

Standard: Up to 5,000 reads
Big: Up to 10,000 reads
Huge: Up to 20,000 reads
Bronto: Up to 500,000 reads

Sequencing configuration

Oxford Nanopore long reads

As fast as

1 - 3 days

As low as

$45

Sample input

Purified amplicons of full-length 16S, 18S or ITS genes, or a mixture thereof

Ideal for

Studying fungi, protists, algae or other microbes that lack 16S genes

Service levels

Standard: Up to 5,000 reads
Big: Up to 10,000 reads
Huge: Up to 20,000 reads
Add cleanup for $5

Sequencing configuration

Oxford Nanopore long reads

As fast as

Next day

As low as

$30

Sample input

Extracted environmental DNA

Ideal for

Comprehensively profiling of diverse microbial communities across all kingdoms

Service levels

Standard: 2 Gb (6.7M read pairs)
Big: 10 Gb (33.3M read pairs)

Sequencing configuration

Illumina 2 x 150 paired-end reads

As fast as

6-8 days

As low as

$90

New! Shotgun Metagenomic Sequencing now available in Beta

Our new service for comprehensively profiling complex communities. Trace your microbial community from domain to species with interactive taxonomy exploration.

Product specs & service levels

All samples are sequenced with ONT.

Service LevelSample InputRead Depth/SampleMinimum VolumeConcentrationCostTarget Turnaround Time
StandardgDNAUp to 5,00010 µL min10 ng/µL$451 business day
BigUp to 10,00020 µL min$75
HugeUp to 20,00040 µL min$135
BrontoUp to 500,00040 µL min$250

Add DNA extraction from raw samples for $15 extra and 3 business day turnaround time. 

All samples are sequenced with ONT. Add cleanup for $5 while placing your order. Cleanup adds 2 days to expected turnaround times.

Service LevelSample InputRead Depth/SampleMinimum VolumeConcentrationCostTarget Turnaround Time
StandardLinear double-stranded DNAUp to 5,00010 µL min10-20 ng/µL$301 business day
BigUp to 10,00020 µL min$60
HugeUp to 20,00040 µL min$120

All samples are sequenced with Illumina 2 x 150 paired-end configuration. 

Service LevelSample InputRaw Data/Sample*CostTarget Turnaround Time
StandardgDNA2 Gb (6.7M read pairs)$906-8 business days
Big10 Gb (33.3M read pairs)$140

* Please note that because this untargeted approach sequences all DNA in your sample, host DNA (e.g., human) will take up a portion of the 2 Gb or 10 Gb of sequencing depth

Data deliverables & bioinformatics

Taxonomic diversity

Screen Recording 2026 04 27 at 9 56 42 AM 2 00 00 01 09 Still001
Taxonomic composition and relative abundance of species in your sample. Shotgun metagenomics additionally includes an interactive visualization for exploring species diversity.

Read identifications

Image 11
Table of taxa to which each read was assigned
[Microbiome 16S Amplification & Sequencing and Microbiome Amplicon Only]

Summary

QWPJT4 7 ZMC 25 1 histogram
Summary of number of reads, distribution of lengths, total bases, read quality scores.

Raw reads

Frame 1171276161
All raw sequencing reads from your sample provided in fastq

FAQs

We use in-house gene amplification or PCR primers to perform barcoded full-length amplification of the 16S gene and construct an Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing library using the newest v14 library prep chemistry. We sequence the amplicons with primer-free protocol using the most accurate R10.4.1 flow cells producing a full-length sequencing read for each amplicon.

We perform end-ligation of your 16S, 18S and/or ITS amplicons and construct an Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing library using the newest v14 library prep chemistry. We sequence the amplicons with primer-free protocol using the most accurate R10.4.1 flow cells, producing a full-length sequencing read for each amplicon.

Plasmidsaurus Shotgun Metagenomics is performed using the newest short-read sequencing technology from Illumina. We use transposase-mediated library preparation chemistry to profile the total genomic DNA present in your sample—capturing bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses in a single assay—and return a comprehensive taxonomic analysis of your microbial community.

There are numerous approaches to extracting metagenomic DNA from the source material (swabs, soil, feces, et cetera), so we do not provide specific recommendations. Any extraction method that yields high quality, high purity, high molecular weight, double-stranded gDNA that is free of nicks, gaps, breaks, and contaminants (enzymatic inhibitors, RNA, etc.) is suitable for this service. 


See sample prep for more information.
 

Zymo DNA/RNA Shield™-preserved source materials for extraction cannot be shipped via your local US dropbox, but instead must be shipped directly to our Eugene lab. You can request a free shipping label during order submission or ship on your own to:

Plasmidsaurus
1850 Millrace Drive, Suite 200
Eugene, OR 97403