The host-associated microbiome interacts extensively with the host’s metabolism and immune system, playing a key role in health and function. Symbiosis and dysbiosis affects cancer, autoimmune disease, allergies, asthma and various metabolic disorders. Studying microbiome composition through metagenomic next-generation sequencing (NGS) is the key to discovering the influences of host-microbiome interactions. Unfortunately, microbial DNA may be a vanishingly small amount of the total DNA and is often eclipsed by host DNA in libraries. This leaves few reads for microbial genome analysis, leading toextremely high sequencing costs per useful read. And when resources are tight, every read counts. Thus, we have developed a protocol that depletes host DNA in tissue, swab and bodily fluids to a negligible amount. In this webinar, we will present this protocol, data and a new kit that depletes host-DNA to better target microbes and the microbiome.

In order to develop optimal workflows for NGS analysis of microbes and microbiomes, having a dedicated toolbox for the tasks at hand helps with achieving high sensitivity and finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. Dedicated tools include bioinformatic tools for depletion of host-derived reads, tools and databases for metagenomic analysis. Here, we will introduce the tools, show how to string them together in workflows and interactively explore results using the QIAGEN CLC Genomics Workbench.