bitBiome, Inc. (Representative Director: Sunao Fujioka, “bitBiome”) and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Professor: David Fredricks, “Fred Hutch”) have developed a collaborative research agreement on the analysis of the vaginal microbiome related to the Bacterial Vaginosis on November 26th, 2020.
bitBiome and Fred Hutch have agreed to collaborate in the microbiome analysis of samples from the female reproductive tract, with the goal of using single-cell resolution to identify novel bacterial species as well as physical co-associations, e.g., epibionts.
Bacterial Vaginosis is a common but little-understood condition that increases the risk of preterm birth, pelvic inflammatory disease, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Women with Bacterial Vaginosis have increased diversity of vaginal bacteria and colonization with numerous bacterial species with poorly understood function where genomic insights may provide new understanding about this condition.
In this research, bitBiome and Fred Hutch will collaborate to utilize bit-MAP®, a single-cell microbial genome analytical platform, together with a shotgun metagenomics approach to understand biological associations between identified novel bacterial species as well as their physical co-associations in Bacterial Vaginosis patients. Single-cell genomics for bacterial cells is a novel approach to unveil individual cell physiology as well as functional insights into microbes from whole-genome sequencing.
【About Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Fredricks lab】
Dr. David Fredricks studies the human microbiome — which includes the trillions of tiny organisms that live in and on us — to determine how changes in these microbial communities affect our health. His research includes study of organisms associated with bacterial vaginosis and sexually transmitted diseases (e.g. HIV) as well as the impact of microbial communities on the outcomes of patients who receive blood stem cell transplants. He also leads the Microbiome Research Initiative, a cross-disciplinary effort at Fred Hutch to deepen understanding of the effects of microbial communities on human health.
【About bitBiome, Inc.】
bitBiome was founded in November 2018 as a spinout from Waseda University. Its proprietary bit-MAP® platform is the world’s only single-cell genome analysis technology specific to microorganisms. Using this platform, rapid, comprehensive, and accurate analysis of unknown microbes can be achieved, without requiring the isolation and cultivation of the cells or complicated data processing typically required in conventional microbiome research. bitBiome provides this technology to academic and corporate partners, mainly in the pharmaceutical and agricultural fields, for next-generation microbiome analysis to unlock the potential of microbes.
For more details, please visit https://www.bitbiome.co.jp/en/
【Contact information】
bitBiome, Inc.
TEL: +81-3-6205-5662
E-mail: info@bitbiome.co.jp