Research into the host-associated microbiome is reshaping our view of how microbial partners interact with and influence their host across its lifespan. Yet, microbiome samples can be surprisingly difficult to extract high-quality nucleic acid from. For instance, low-abundance microbes may require different protocols or kits, robust microorganisms, such as Gram-positive bacteria, demand specialized tools to lyse. If not removed, substances isolated with the nucleic acids can inhibit downstream PCR and NGS.

Moreover, in samples such as tissue, swabs and sputum, microbial DNA represents only a small proportion of the total, while host DNA dominates sequencing libraries. This limits microbial diversity coverage and reduces sensitivity for detecting rare species. Thus, for reliable and cost-effective metagenomic analysis, host DNA must be efficiently removed during sample preparation.

To this end, we developed specialized protocols and tools to lyse resilient microbes and remove PCR inhibitors. Furthermore, we designed a kit to deplete host DNA from tissue, swab and sputum samples. In this webinar, we present workflows and data, comparing different sample preparation options and demonstrate how effective lysis, inhibitor removal and host-DNA depletion enable more cost-effective and comprehensive microbiome analysis.