Understanding Microbiome Research

Microbiome research investigates the structure, function, and dynamics of microbial communities that inhabit and interact with us, including those found in the gut, soil, and skin. By uncovering how microbes influence health, disease, and ecosystems at both community and single-cell levels, microbiome research paves the way for future breakthroughs in health, nutrition, and sustainability.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is microbiome research?

Microbiome research explores the communities of microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses, that inhabit the human body and other environments. These microbial ecosystems influence health, disease progression, and drug response. By studying the microbiome, researchers can uncover mechanisms behind immunity, metabolism, and chronic conditions, paving the way for targeted therapies and precision medicine.
The microbiome plays a critical role in human health, affecting digestion, immune function, and even neurological processes. Imbalances in microbial communities are linked to conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and cancer. Understanding these interactions enables breakthroughs in diagnostics, probiotic development, and personalized treatment strategies, making microbiome research essential for modern healthcare.
Unlike FACS, which can damage cells and lacks culture-first design, CYTENA’s B.SIGHT™ and Cellenion’s cellenONE gently isolate viable cells with image-based verification, supporting cultivation and downstream omics.

Our instruments for microbiome research are designed with scalability in mind. The B.SIGHT™ can isolate 1,000+ single cells in less than 30 minutes, the cellenONE HT supports automated workflows and barcoding, and the I.DOT Liquid Handler is compatible with 384 and 1536-well formats with ultra-low volume dispensing.

BICO instruments are modular and automation-friendly. They integrate seamlessly with standard NGS or MS workflows, fitting into existing pipelines for sample preparation, cultivation, and analysis.

How we support microbiome research

BICO supports microbiome research with modular tools that streamline every stage, from isolating rare or “unculturable” microbes with the B.SIGHT™ by CYTENA, to enabling single-cell omics with image-based dispensing with the cellenONE by Cellenion, to automating low-volume sample prep and assay miniaturization with the I.DOT Liquid Handler by DISPENDIX. Together, our tools enable scalable, cost-effective, high-resolution analysis of microbial life, empowering researchers to run high-throughput experiments with greater speed, efficiency, and reproducibility, driving new discoveries and translational breakthroughs.

Single-cell and controlled consortia analysis

Single-cell resolution and controlled consortia analysis open the door to linking microbial function with human health and disease. These capabilities also support the development of novel live biotherapeutic products (LBPs), offering new therapeutic strategies.

Culturing rare and "unculturable" microbes

With image-based dispensing and anaerobic compatibility, the B.SIGHT™ redefines what is possible by isolating and cultivating taxa that traditional methods miss. This enables the recovery of rare and slow-growing microbes with industrial or therapeutic potential.

High-throughput, scalable workflows

Platforms like B.SIGHT™ by CYTENA and cellenONE by Cellenion use standard microtiter plates and integrate seamlessly into high-throughput automation. Researchers can scale up single-cell workflows efficiently, expanding access to microbial diversity without excessive costs.

Assay miniaturization for omics

The I.DOT Liquid Handler enables assay miniaturization for NGS and proteomics, reducing reagent usage by up to 90% while supporting multiplexing. The cellenONE, integrating single-cell isolation and picoliter dispensing, enables miniaturizing single-cell omics library preparation. Both provide researchers with reduced costs and accelerated discoveries.

Sub-Applications

Microbiome research is central to understanding how microbial communities shape health, disease, and the environment. BICO supports key sub-applications within microbiome research.

Diversity Mining

The discovery of new microbial taxa, often referred to as microbial dark matter, is essential for unlocking novel pathways with applications in health, biotechnology, and sustainability. With the B.SIGHT™, researchers can culture rare and “unculturable” microbes, while the cellenONE enables single-cell omics to reveal genetic potential at the strain level. By combining BICO technologies, access to hidden microbial diversity can be achieved.

Mechanistic Insights

Single-cell analysis provide insights into microbial ecosystems, whether environmental or host-associated. The cellenONE enables precise image-based single-cell isolation, of any type of microbial cells, including in mixed samples that may contain host cells. Its open platform offers picoliter-scale liquid dispensing and on-deck incubation, for streamlined preparaion of single cell omics libraries.

Microbial Strain Development

Developing microbial strains for industrial fermentation, probiotics, or LBPs requires massive parallel isolation of clones to identify rare and high-value strains. The B.SIGHT™ isolates and cultivates strains deterministically, while the I.DOT Liquid Handler enables multiplexed assays for functional screening, streamlining the path from strain isolation to product development.

Products for Microbiome Research

BICO offers a range of products designed to accelerate microbiome research, from isolating rare microorganisms to enabling single-cell omics and assay miniaturization.

B.SIGHT

Optimized for rapid microbial single-cell isolation and cultivation
GO

cellenONE HT

High-throughput single-cell isolation for large-scale workflows
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BIO X6™

Delivering unparalleled bioprinting flexibility with 6 printheads

GO

I.DOT Series

Precise, reproducible nanoliter dispensing to streamline experiments
GO

cellenONE X1 NEO

Single-cell isolation with advanced dispensing and imaging
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Contact Us

Get in touch with a BICO expert today to discuss your research goals, explore our innovative solutions, and find the approach that perfectly aligns with your lab’s needs. Whether you’re looking for a quote, a product demo, or technical guidance, our team is here to support you every step of the way.
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