Nucleic acid analysis of microbes helps researchers understand the interactions and effects each organism may play within this microbial community; both within a host and in external environments. This community can include bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

Recently the number of labs pursing microbiome research has been increasing due to advances in sequencing technologies and the reduced costs to perform downstream analysis. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s microbiome kits offer a dedicated solution for fast and easy purification of high-quality nucleic acids from stool and soil. The kits utilize MagMAX magnetic bead technology, ensuring reproducible recovery of high-quality nucleic acid compatible with a broad range of applications, including microarrays, real-time PCR, and next-generation sequencing.

No matter what your sample type and how difficult it is to lyse, the Applied Biosystems microbiome kit can help you extract and isolate pure total nucleic acid for your research.


MagMAX microbiome GI microbe detection workflow


Sample data using MagMAX kits for microbiome research

Microbiome analysis using bead tubes

Agarose gel showing the quality of total microbial nucleic acids purified with MagMAX Microbiome kit from 6 donors

Figure 1. Quality comparison of purified nucleic acids using the MagMAX microbiome kit. Quality of total microbial nucleic acid purified from feces (100 mg input) with MagMAX Microbiome Ultra Nucleic Acid Isolation kit was analyzed on a 1% agarose gel. 1 μg of total nucleic acid sample from each donor was loaded per lane in duplicate for six human donors. Clear bands of both genomic DNA and RNA can be seen on the ethidium bromide pre-stained agarose gel. The Invitrogen 1 Kb Plus DNA Ladder was utilized for size determination. (Note: Since this is not a denatured gel, RNA sizes shown are different from actual. Gel analysis was performed under native conditions, and thus RNA sizes appear somewhat different from the actual size.)

Bar chart showing total yield of microbial nucleic acids purified with MagMAX Microbiome kit from 6 donors

Figure 2. Yield comparison of purified nucleic acids using the MagMAX microbiome kit. Total Nucleic acid yields (both DNA + RNA) isolated from fecal (100 mg input) samples collected from six human donors were measured on Nanodrop 2000.

Bioanalyzer trace of human fecal total showing 16S and 23S rRNA peaks of human fecal total RNA isolated using a bead tube version of MagMAX Microbiome Ultra Nucleic Acid Isolation kit

Figure 3. Bioanalyzer trace of human fecal total RNA isolated using a bead tube version of MagMAX Microbiome Ultra Nucleic Acid Isolation kit. RNA 6000 Nano Kit with the Prokaryotic RNA assay was used to analyze the quality. Representative electropherogram indicate the position of 16S and 23S rRNA peaks. Unlabeled peaks correspond to additional ribosomal RNA.

Urine, saliva, and VTM DNA extractions using MagMAX microbiome kits

Plot graph showing mean Ct values obtained from qPCR analysis of RNA and DNA isolated from Firmicutes and E. Coli bacteria in 5 donor urine samples

Figure 4. qPCR analysis of DNA purified from urine samples with the MagMAX Microbiome Ultra Nucleic Acid Isolation Kit for five human donors.TaqMan Assays were utilized for one gram-positive (Firmicutes) and one gram-negative (E. coli) bacteria. For RNA analysis, total nucleic acid was treated with DNase and reverse transcribed using Superscript Vilo Master Mix to make the cDNA. TaqMan Fast Advanced Master Mix was used under fast cycling conditions.

Plot graph showing mean Ct values obtained from qPCR analysis of RNA and DNA isolated from Firmicutes and E. Coli bacteria in 5 donor saliva samples

Figure 5. qPCR analysis of DNA purified from saliva samples with the MagMAX Microbiome Ultra Nucleic Acid Isolation Kit for five human donors.  TaqMan Assays were utilized for one gram-positive (Firmicutes) and one gram-negative (E. coli) bacteria. For RNA analysis, total nucleic acid was treated with DNase and reverse transcribed using Superscript Vilo Master Mix to make the cDNA. TaqMan Fast Advanced Master Mix was used under fast cycling conditions.

Fungal DNA extractions using MagMAX microbiome kits

Bar graph showing mean Ct value obtained from qPCR analysis of DNA purified from C. albicanas, A. niger, Red Star Yeast, Fleichmanns yeast, and Probiotic ginger

Figure 6. qPCR analysis of DNA purified from fungal cultures with the MagMAX Microbiome Ultra Nucleic Acid Isolation Kit. qPCR was performed using a total fungal TaqMan assay. TaqMan Fast Advanced Master Mix was used under fast cycling conditions.

Bar graph showing the mean Ct vaues of C. difficle obtained from qPCR analysis of DNA purified from human donors with C. difficle infection

Figure 7. qPCR analysis of DNA purified from human donors with C. difficile infection using the MagMAX Microbiome Ultra Nucleic Acid Isolation Kit. Samples were obtained from Discovery biosciences and qPCR was performed using a C. difficile TaqMan assay. TaqMan Fast Advanced Master Mix was used under fast cycling conditions.

Soil sample total nucleic acid extraction using MagMAX Microbiome Ultra kits

Bar graph showing the mean Ct values of mixed gram positive and gram-negative target (16S) and a Gram-negative target (Bacteroidetes) obtained from qPCR analysis of total nucleic acid isolated from Texas soil samples using the MagMAX Microbiome Ultra Nucleic Acid Isolation kit

Figure 8. qPCR analysis of total nucleic acid isolated from Texas soil samples with the MagMAX Microbiome Ultra Nucleic Acid Isolation Kit. TaqMan Assays were performed for a mixed gram positive and gram-negative target (16S) and a Gram-negative target (Bacteroidetes). Twenty-fold dilution of soil total nucleic acid preps was used for TaqMan assays. For RNA analysis, total nucleic acid was treated with DNase and reverse transcribed using Superscript Vilo Master Mix to make the cDNA. TaqMan Fast Advanced Master Mix was used under fast cycling conditions.

NGS microbiome data

Figure 9. Species level 16S profile for microbial DNA purified from stool of a human donor with ulcerative colitis (UC). Total nucleic acid was purified from the stool of a patient with UC (in duplicates) and 16S Metagenomics kit and Ion plus fragment library kit were used to synthesize 16S libraries. The barcoded libraries were pooled and templated on Ion Chef Instrument followed by sequencing on the Ion S5 System. Automated analysis, annotation, and taxonomic assignments were performed on Ion reporter software. A fecal sample DNA from a healthy donor is shown for species level comparison and abundance scale is shown above the profile. Red being the highly abundant species and blue being not detected/rare. R studio program is used to generate heat maps using log (2) values.

Figure 10. Species level 16S profile for microbial DNA purified from stool of a human donor, who was on a nutritionist recommended diet for 16 weeks. Total nucleic acid was isolated from the stool of human donor who underwent (or was on) 16 weeks diet, in duplicate and 16S Metagenomics kit and Ion plus fragment library kit were used to synthesize 16S libraries. The barcoded libraries were pooled and templated on Ion Chef Instrument followed by sequencing on the Ion S5 System. Automated analysis, annotation, and taxonomic assignments were performed on Ion reporter software. A fecal sample DNA from a healthy donor is shown for species level comparison and abundance scale is shown above the profile. Red being the highly abundant species and blue being not detected/rare. R studio program is used to generate heat maps using log (2) values.

What are the bead beating settings for the MagMAX Microbiome Ultra kit?

Options for bead beatingSettings
Omni Bead Ruptor 9630 Hz for 2 min
Mini Bead Beater 962 min
Bead Bug4 min for 4 m/s
Plate Shaker (Vortex with plate adapter)5 min at 2,000 rpm
Vortex with 24-tube adapter10 min at 2,500 rpm

Looking for more information about MagMAX microbiome kits?

See MagMAX microbiome kit FAQs


Automate MagMAX Kits using KingFisher instruments

Four different Kingfisher purification instruments

Benefits of KingFisher instruments include

  • Various throughputs—Process 6–96 samples per run depending on the instrument model
  • Interchangeable formats— Process a wide range of input volumes
  • Protocol customization—Easily edit, modify, or create new protocols
  • Optimized reagents—Compatible with multiple magnetic-bead reagents

Explore:  KingFisher instruments
Download:   Validated software automation scripts for KingFisher purification instruments

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

Stylesheet for Classic Wide Template adjustments

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.