Accelerate your research with GA-map®

The gut microbiota is the most abundant microbiota in the human body. We have a set of core functional bacteria that are involved in vital functions such as gut-barrier defense, nutrition and behavior. These core functional bacteria are common to all healthy humans. However, each individual's gut microbiota composition is mostly unique.

Gut bacteria composition can be influenced by various factors such as parental microbiota, genetics, age, diet, environment and medication.

Under normal conditions, the various bacteria species present in the human gut exist in a balance. A loss of this balance, resulting in alterations to the gut microbiota composition (loss of species diversity or overgrowth of single bacteria species) is called dysbiosis.

Gut microbiota dysbiosis is often associated with overgrowth of opportunistic pathogens and depletion of commensal bacteria, resulting in disturbances of the microbiota’s digestive and anti-inflammatory functions. Dysbiosis can be induced by various external factors, some of which are: low-fiber diet, antibiotic intake or excessive alcohol consumption. Dysbiosis is also associated with a number of diseases.

Gut microbiota dysbiosis is often associated with overgrowth of opportunistic pathogens and depletion of commensal bacteria, resulting in disturbances of the microbiota’s digestive and anti-inflammatory functions. Functional impairments can lead to inflammation of the intestinal mucosa, which in turn can take part in the development of chronic diseases.

Accumulating evidence show a profound association between dysbiosis and a wide range of health disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel diseases, colorectal cancer, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, major depression disorder, autism spectrum disorder, Parkinson’s disease, obesity, and many others.

The GA-map® technology utilizes instruments commonly used in clinical laboratories. Follow our Pre Installation Guide to check if your lab is equipped with the right instruments.

Our technology transfer team will assist you throughout the installation process and perform comprehensive training for your staff.

We will make sure you have everything you need to start running the GA- map® assay. Close follow-ups are always included in our technology transfer service.

Contact us for more information about technology transfer.

GA-map® utilizes well-established molecular lab techniques and instruments commonly used in clinical laboratories. DNA extracted from the samples does not require extensive processing or library preparation, allowing for complete analysis from sample to result in 1-2 days.

As part of our CE-IVD GA-map® Dysbiosis Test, the GA-map® software performs quality control and generates sample reports with no need for additional data processing steps. The GA-map® Dysbiosis Test is complemented with an instruction video and a detailed user manual.

GA-map® Dysbiosis Test assay uses a selection of 48 probes targeting >300 bacteria on different taxonomic levels. Samples from a normobiotic reference population were used to develop a dysbiosis model with a bacterial profile and Dysbiosis Index score output.

The model algorithmically assesses fecal bacterial abundance and profiles, and potential clinically relevant deviation in the microbiome from normobiosis. This model was tested and validated on samples from healthy volunteers, IBS and IBD patients to determine the ability to detect dysbiosis.

GA-map® Dysbiosis Test is well documented and standardized for clinical routine testing and provideshighly repeatable, easy to interpret results.

The GA-map® Dysbiosis Test is designed to diagnose and characterize dysbiosis from a fecal sample. The test has been validated using independent cohorts of healthy volunteers, IBS and IBD patients.

The test was developed using the GA-map® technology, utilizing amplification of the 16S rRNA gene, present in all bacteria, for simultaneous detection of 48 clinically relevant bacteria markers.

GA-map® Discovery is a Research Use Only bacteria profiling service based on the GA-map® platform. The panel includes over 170 bacterial markers covering both gut and oral microbiota, with each marker representing microorganisms of high clinical significance in gastrointestinal and metabolic disease. Find out more about GA-map® Discovery here.

Interested in including GA-map® Discovery analysis in your research? Contact us for details.

The GA-map® platform utilizes a pre-determined target approach, where each bacterial marker has documented specificity, making the results independent of external database hits. Tests developed on our platform have proven high reproducibility.

Under development of GA-map® Dysbiosis Test, cohorts of both healthy individuals as well as IBS and IBD patients were used to establish a healthy reference population with relative abundance of bacteria species, and to assess deviations from the normobiotic composition. GA-map® Dysbiosis Test is CE marked and IVD-R compliant. Standardization of the test ensures repeatable and accurate results. GA-map® reagent kits are produced following the ISO 13485 standard for medical devices.

The GA-map® Dysbiosis Test reagent kit contains all the reagents required for the analysis. Additional kits are required for gDNA isolation and quantification.

GA-map Discovery® is run for you entirely in our Service lab. All you need to do is send us your samples, we will send you the results. No pre-analysis preparation needed.

The unique, patented algorithm in the GA-map® software calculates the Dysbiosis Index, several functional bacteria profiles and relative abundance of 48 clinically relevant bacteria for each sample.

The results are presented in an easy-to-read report form generated by the GA-map® software. Alternatively, the results can be exported via a LIMS software and used to generate customized report forms.

See an example of the report form here: Report form pdf