M-SCI

The Microbiomics Standards and Controls Initiative

  • Receive free standards and controls.
  • Improve accuracy and data reproducibility.
  • Help the field of Microbiomics incorporate controls and standards in every experiment.

Why Give Away Free Standards & Controls?

Good Science Requires Controls

Leaders in the field of microbiomics have recognized that the lack of well-defined microbial standards and controls has held back research progress. Zymo Research is passionate about data quality and reproducibility so, in an effort to make well-defined standards and controls available to all researchers, the ZymoBIOMICS Microbial Standards and Spike-in Controls will be offered to all free of charge!

How to Receive Free Microbiome Standards & Controls

Pencil with paper

Provide some details about your project.

Truck driving

Zymo Research will send you free standards and controls.*

Computer with graphs

Use these controls for accurate and reproducible data.

*For a limited time. Limits apply. Zymo Research possesses sole discretion on how many standards and controls are to be granted for free. This is to ensure enough material is provided, based on project size.

Worldwide Consortia and Leaders in the Field are Calling for Standards

It is an exciting time for the field of metagenomics and the microbiome. However, the limited ability to compare between different research studies greatly hinders the progress of the research.

- Christopher E. Mason, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Weill Cornell Medicine

Before we can make correlations of microorganisms with a condition, we need to know that the microbiome we have is reflective of reality.

- Raul Cano Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer, BioCollective

Read more about the global effort for microbiomics standardization.

What are Microbiome Standards & Controls?

Microbiome standards are mixed cell communities or isolated DNA composed in known concentrations allowing for accurate data interpretation. Read more about the standards

Types of Standards & Controls

  • Mock Microbial Communities for general workflow assessment and positive controls.
  • Isolated DNA Standards to benchmark library prep and bioinformatics.
  • Spike-in Controls for absolute quantification and in situ quality control.
  • Reference Material as a positive control using real life samples.
M-SCI workflow
Learn more about each standard & control

The ZymoBIOMICS Portfolio of Standards & Controls

ZymoBIOMICS Standards Microbial Community Standard Microbial Community Standard II Spike-in Control HMW DNA Standard
Formats Microbial Cell DNA Microbial Cell DNA High Microbial Load Low Microbial Load DNA
Detect Bias In: Complete Workflow Library prep & Bioinformatics Complete Workflow Library Prep & Bioinformatics Complete Workflow Complete Workflow Long-read Sequencing
Recommended Use General benchmarking and microbiome profiling control Assess detection limit and sensitivity Absolute quantification  of high bacterial-load samples (e.g., feces) Absolute quantification of low bacterial-load samples (e.g., sputum) General benchmarking and microbiome profiling control for long-read sequencing

Cited by Leaders in the Field:

See more citations here.
*For a limited time. Limits apply. Zymo Research possesses sole discretion on how many standards and controls are to be granted for free. This is to ensure enough material is provided, based on project size.