The Belgian start-up is trying to revolutionize the microbiome profiling by way of superior fluorocoding and optical mapping expertise.
It leverages distinctive patterns of quick nucleotide repeats (4-mers) alongside microbial genomes to create sturdy taxonomic barcodes.
This permits exact, strain-level taxonomic classification inside three hours, with out the necessity for DNA amplification or library preparation.
Arno Bouwens, R&D director at Perseus Biomics, instructed NutraIngredients, that “whereas sequencing has been groundbreaking on this area, we now imagine it’s not probably the most environment friendly device for this activity.”
Revolutionizing microbiome evaluation
The expertise originated on the College KU Leuven, the place the founding researchers initially used fluorescent molecules to investigate human DNA.
“After exploring bacterial phages, we realized the potential to determine bacterial species,” Bouwens mentioned.
“We hung out creating strategies to extract lengthy DNA molecules and found we might distinguish strains which can be 99.9% an identical on the nucleotide degree.
“This was shocking, as we weren’t utilizing sequencing— but we discovered that strains differ not solely by sequence but additionally by genome construction, which was revealed by our expertise’s skill to zoom out on the DNA molecule.”
Perseus Biomics was then based in 2020, transitioning the expertise from the college to a scalable system two years later.
“Now, we provide our expertise as a service, offering microbiome knowledge a lot sooner than sequencing, which often takes months,” Bouwens mentioned.
Moreover, subsequent yr will see the launch of the corporate’s benchtop system, which goals to make the expertise accessible for customers conducting exams on their very own.
Patented optical DNA mapping expertise
The tech firm was adamant to deal with limitations within the microbiome area, defined Bouwens.
“Sequencing is sort of a hammer, the place the whole lot begins to appear to be a nail—it’s getting used for a lot of forms of microbiome evaluation, however we imagine it’s not the perfect strategy for all of them.”
He defined that sequencing micro organism a number of instances isn’t obligatory, and with out wanting to switch it, Bouwens believes his firm’s answer is healthier for microbiome evaluation and pressure monitoring.
Regardless of the perceived simplicity of the method, Perseus Biomics sits alone on this model of mapping.
“The optical mapping of DNA, although used within the Human Genome Challenge within the 90s, confronted vital technical challenges that made it troublesome to advance,” Bouwens added. “This course of, which helped enhance genome meeting, was largely unused after its preliminary software.”
Perseus Biomics recognized two key challenges: the necessity to reliably linearize DNA molecules on a floor (utilizing molecular combing) and extract lengthy DNA molecules from samples.
“Fixing each points directly was a dangerous endeavor, however we took the gamble 4 years in the past and ultimately discovered a profitable options,” Bouwens mentioned. “Now the corporate holds patents for its DNA labeling expertise, molecular combing course of and related algorithms.”
Probiotic purposes
The expertise is especially helpful for probiotic firms, because it simplifies monitoring probiotic strains within the intestine, a activity that usually requires costly sequencing, Bouwens mentioned.
Perseus Biomics’ shoppers embrace firms creating probiotics corresponding to AB-Biotics, which is utilizing the DynaMAP expertise to discover how its probiotics affect the intestine microbiome and whether or not these probiotics survive and are detectable.
Different collaborators embrace firms in precision fermentation, even one firm that makes sourdough bread and must determine the strains of their sourdough mixes to affect the bread’s style.
Quick and inexpensive enterotyping
DynaMAP goals to revolutionize medical purposes by leveraging pressure decision expertise, notably within the improvement of a device for microbiome enterotyping, which categorizes microbiome compositions.
“This device might assist determine dysbiotic enterotypes, linked to circumstances like inflammatory bowel illness and a number of sclerosis,” Bouwens mentioned.
“With an added software program layer, we might provide a quick, inexpensive and environment friendly technique to conduct enterotyping, avoiding the excessive prices and complexities of sequencing.”
This, he tasks, could result in an in vitro diagnostic device, topic to certification. Nonetheless, the highest precedence for now’s to “get the expertise on the market and assist folks uncover its purposes.”
“We need to deal with the issues that individuals at the moment face with sequencing, particularly the questions that present applied sciences can’t reply,” Bouwens mentioned.
He might be presenting DynaMAP on stage through the IPA World Congress + Probiota 2025, to be held in Copenhagen from Feb. 5 to 7.
