Making Sense Out of Microbiome Data: The Importance of Standardized Reference Materials

Next-generation sequencing technologies have influenced microbiome analyses in tremendous ways, opening up applications in the areas of clinical, diagnostic, therapeutic, and environmental research. However, the complexities involved in 16S rRNA community profiling and shotgun metagenomics methods often result in the introduction of biases throughout the workflow, ultimately impacting data interpretation and reproducibility. To address this, ATCC has developed fully sequenced, authenticated NGS Standards that can be used in assay standardization or as daily run controls. This workshop will highlight the utility of these standards and will focus on the assays and sequencing tools from Illumina that facilitate microbiome research.