Move to non-invasive day-to-day monitoring of Gut Health
The assay is set up to be used on field samples in standard lab facilities.
Metagenomic shotgun sequencing is by far the most informative tool in microbiome R&D. The acquired data from the 1.000 inhabitants of the microbiome can be best compared with a huge iceberg.
Its open untargeted nature allows to get a deeper understanding of mode of actions in this very complex system. However, the data output is extremely large: it is estimated that 99.9999997 % of this data is redundant. Therefore costs of analysis are significant. So the confirmation of mode of actions in the microbiome in large groups of individuals is restrictive.
Florates allows to confirm mode of action over projects and time.
The validated components and protocols are always the same, and we can develop markers anywhere on any genome for our targeted customized assays. It feels a bit like Lego.
This means that markers can be developed from deep into the iceberg, like the presence of a specific probiotic strain, to very high in the same iceberg, like for instance the group of butyrate producing bacteria in the gut, which is known to be very diverse.
Our second application follows from the first. It uses the same components and protocols.
Florates has 2 unique assays, the Butyrate assay and the Gut Damage assay.
Both are used to monitor Gut health in the field of livestock. We are extending to dogs and humans as well.
The farmer or advisor can take samples himself. The swabs are send to a local lab for analysis.
The lab results go via our algorithm in the cloud. Florates has a proven relation with future Feed Conversion Rate and Body Weight in animal trials.
So the risk level for Gut Health can be reported back to the farmer within 24h. It can be combined with an advise to improve or to use specific products
Our Florates Gut Health Indicator reflects the overall villus-crypt ratio in the animal gut e.g for broilers and swine.
The gut health of animals is widely recognized to have a large impact on day-to-day animal health and welfare. Our molecular assays help you to unchain the value of the animal Gut Health.
All assays are based on our proprietary molecular system: robust identification of targeted shifts in biological ratios.
From its start, Florates aimed to design and validate a molecular diagnostic system that is focusing on shifts in microbial communities as a supplementary tool to eg. PCR or sequencing, for daytoday use. With their experience in both veterinary and IVD diagnostics as well as the expertise in animal farming Florates has the capability to provide new insights in Gut Health with non-invasive sampling. Sampling can be performed by the farmer and can be sent to the local lab, for swift and reliable results.
The Florates assays are based on a proprietary Ligation-based Quantitative Real Time PCR. Each component of the system as well as its assays are completely designed for the robust detection of shifts in ratios in complex biological systems such as the Gut Health and the Gut Microbiome.
So is, as an example, the extraction of the sample is based on the majority of the sample to minimize the inhomogeneity of normal field samples.
All assays make use of the same assay components and protocol, such as buffers and enzymes which are optimized & validated for ratios: making results predictable and reliable.
Identifying ratios in 1 assay is crucial for robust results, to correct for any variations in PCR, sample size & consistency.