An imbalanced microbiome is not only characterized by a lack of diversity or abundance of species. What truly matters are the functions expressed:
Production of beneficial fatty acids (such as butyrate)
Synthesis of vitamins (K, B12)
Modulation of inflammatory or immune pathways
Strengthening of the intestinal barrier
Whether it's a prebiotic stimulating certain metabolic pathways, a postbiotic modulating inflammation, a probiotic activating key functions, or a clinical-stage LBP, functional proof has become essential to convince authorities, prescribers, and consumers.
Transcriptomics or Metatranscriptomics: Two complementary approaches to demonstrate the effect of biotics
Studying expressed genes is now crucial to evaluate the actual functional effects of LBPs, probiotics, and other nutritional treatments like prebiotics, postbiotics, or dietary supplements. Two major genomic approaches provide access to this dimension: transcriptomics and metatranscriptomics.
Transcriptomics: Study of messenger RNAs produced by an isolated strain in a controlled environment.
Ideal for R&D to select strains for future LBPs or probiotics.
Allows selection of bacterial strains for their ability to produce digestive enzymes, fatty acids, antimicrobial substances, etc.
Metatranscriptomics: Study of messenger RNAs from the entire microbiota directly in a complex sample.
Identifies functions actively expressed in the intestinal ecosystem through the study of human stool samples.
Measures in situ the functional effect of a microbial strain (LBP or probiotic) or a nutritional treatment.
GenoScreen Focus: Activ’Reveal solution
With Activ’Reveal, GenoScreen innovates by combining, from the same sample, a metagenomic (DNA) and metatranscriptomic (RNA) approach to provide a dual reading: Who is present in the microbiome? What functions are actively expressed?
This approach is highly flexible: it applies to both in vivo clinical studies and in vitro or ex vivo models (e.g., Gut Microbiome Simulator), enabling the generation of robust functional evidence at all stages of development.
This unprecedented functional proof allows you to:
Scientifically demonstrate the effect of your prebiotics, postbiotics, dietary supplements, and LBPs
Select the most effective strains or formulations
Enhance your products from a marketing and regulatory perspective, with tangible and differentiating evidence
Our team supports you in choosing the most appropriate approaches – from strain selection to clinical validation – in order to generate the scientific evidence that will make a difference!
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Find out more about our articles on biotics.
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