
What's new?
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Missed Human Microbiome Days? Catch up now with our on-demand webinarsQIAGEN’s Human Microbiome Days featured expert speakers from around the world. You can now view their presentations on human disease and wellness at your convenience. -
Hurry to win a Gut Check game – make your Microbe Masterpiece todayThere are still Gut Check games to be won by creating an artwork of your favorite microbes. How about sketching microbes on a sandy beach? Share your vision before September 1 and browse the social wall now. -
Leveraging the microbiome to improve pregnancy outcomesSome women can experience additional stressors and obstacles to healthy pregnancy outcomes. Dr. Anna Knight is part of a team exploring changes to the microbiome that might affect pregnancy outcomes, particularly in African American women.
From microbes to microbiomes – results you can trust
Getting the right kit – for every sample type
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Human sample selection guideOur human sample portfolio includes dedicated nucleic acid isolation solutions for many sample types, even the most challenging ones. See which kits suit your sample best in our human sample selection guide. Then choose the automation and throughput options you need. -
Environmental sample selection guideFor environmental and agricultural microbial research, our sample extraction solutions help you tackle difficult-to-lyse microbes, eliminate inhibitors from your sample and achieve unbiased results. Whether it’s water, soil, plants or the air we breathe, find the ideal product to purify your most difficult samples by downloading the environmental sample selection guide.
Complete workflow for microbiome research
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Efficient sample disruptionSome microbes contain a robust extracellular matrix, making them especially difficult to lyse. Incomplete lysis of a microbial community results in an inaccurate representation of the microbial content of the sample. QIAGEN’s sample disruption solutions ensure fast, powerful and efficient homogenization.
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Unbiased high-yield sample preparationQIAGEN‘s microbial nucleic acid isolation kits result in high yields of high-quality DNA and RNA. Efficient lysis prevents bias towards abundant species; the patented Inhibitor Removal Technology® removes inhibitory components that can negatively affect analysis and efficient host DNA depletion, enabling efficient use of NGS capacities.
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State-of-the-art detectionQIAGEN’s solutions for NGS and qPCR analysis include features such as low bioburden reagents, internal controls to monitor workflow steps and inhibitor-resistant chemistries. These facilitate accurate and efficient NGS and qPCR analysis for high-quality results.
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Digital insightsQIAGEN’s bioinformatics tools for microbiome research provide fully integrated solutions to turn results to insights. The software is intuitive and easy-to-use. Preconfigured workflows streamline the processing of raw NGS data.

Explore microbiome research at QIAGEN
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Microbiome BlogStay up to date on the latest in microbiome from QIAGEN. Read interesting stories on our Biomarker Insights Blog. -
Webinars, on-demandLearn more about exiting microbiome research and hear from leading scientists in this field in a series of webinars. Go to our webinar page to download and listen to an on-demand recording.
Featured kits for microbiome research
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QIAamp PowerFecal Pro DNA KitUp to 20-fold more DNA. Efficient lysis, higher alpha diversity and recovery of inhibitor-free DNA. Automatable. -
DNeasy PowerSoil Pro KitInhibitor-free DNA for direct downstream use. Yield up to 8-fold DNA with unbiased alpha sample diversity results. Automatable. -
QIAseq FastSelect –5S/16S/23S KitsRapid 5S/16S/23S rRNA removal. From fragmented or full-length RNA for metatranscriptomics studies.
Automated solutions to standardize your microbiome workflow
Sample preparation is a significant factor in determining the success of every microbiome workflow and its reproducibility. Variations in nucleic acid quality, like degradation, concentration, or presence of contaminants, can impact your results and their interpretation. Extraction of nucleic acids by different users allows for increased chances of error due to multiple manual interventions. This further leads to irregularities in the research outcome. Automating the extraction of nucleic acids is one way to ensure reproducibility. Learn more about QIAGEN’s automated solutions for standardized and reproducible sample processing.
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Efficient homogenization for sample disruptionHigh-level homogenization and reproducible results with difficult-to-lyse samples.
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Redefining automated sample processingAutomation of proven QIAGEN spin-column kits with full connectivity for remote monitoring. -
Mid-high throughput nucleic acid purification96-well format for reliable DNA/RNA extraction. -
Fully integrated, rapid workflow automationMagnetic-beads-based sample purification from a varied range of starting materials.
Microbiome FAQs
What is the microbiome?
The microbiome is the community of microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, fungi, viruses and eukaryotes) that can be found inside and on the human and animal body, as well as on plants and in the environment.
What is metagenomics?
Metagenomics, also known as community genomics, is the genetic analysis of microbial communities contained in natural living environments. It enables the analysis of the microbial diversity and ecology of a specific environment. Metagenomics provides scientists with a means to study microbes which cannot be cultured and enables them to better capture the extraordinary diversity present within microbial communities. This is achieved by Next-Generation Sequencing techniques with the ability to analyse thousands of samples in parallel. Scientists can then gain valuable insights to better understand both our own physiology and the systems of the world we live in.


