A snapshot of a community of microbes can be very informative. In the past microbiologists have used ‘fingerprinting’ methods such as denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) to achieve such snapshots, however, high throughput DNA sequencing techniques have  superseded such approaches. At Novorem we employ Illumina NextGen sequencing technology to obtain the DNA sequences of SSU rRNA amplicons derived from Bacteria and Archaea present in your samples.

Pyrosequencing is a ‘sequencing by synthesis’ method that generates thousands of DNA sequences from a single sample. This offers a statistically robust list of organisms present with relative abundances enabling abundance ranking from the most numerically dominant species to the rarest of the rare. The data is presented as a list of the top ten most abundant species alongside a general description of the physiology of those species. For example, species are classified as aerobic, fermentative, sulphate reducing, iron reducing, denitrifying, organochlorine respiring, acetogenic, methanogenic etc. High throughput sequencing has revolutionised microbiology over the past decade. Novorem put it to good use, painting a picture of subsurface conditions from the perspective of the inhabitants.

Enzyme Assays

Learn how easy it will be to bioremediate your site — test the microbial biomass and oxidative ability of your microbial community.

Gene Quantification

Find out exactly what you’re dealing with: use DNA identification to learn what specific microbes are present in a sample.