NirvanaBiome uses whole genome shotgun DNA sequencing to provide high resolution analysis of your microbiome. This means that you will get a report with the bacteria identified in your microbiome with high confidence. In addition to bacteria, we provide viruses, fungi, protists, and functional pathways that are found (for example, short chain fatty acid pathways and vitamin synthesis pathways). This gives you a great view of your microbiome.

With 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, only a portion of one gene is analyzed. This gene is highly conserved (it is essential for most microbes to live) and therefore single base changes that occur in it over time help to identify which organism the gene came from. Since you only sequence one gene for 16S analysis, you are very limited in the amount of information you can obtain. Bacterial genomes are millions of bases long, and at NirvanaBiome, we want to use all of this information, rather than limiting ourselves to 600 bases of DNA. Therefore, we use whole genome shotgun sequencing. While it is more expensive and more computationally challenging than 16S, we believe the trade-off is worthwhile because we can gather so much more information about the microbes that are present in a sample. We identify microbes to the species and strain level, and we look at viruses, protists, and fungi in addition to bacteria (16S is limited to bacteria only). We can find antibiotic resistance genes and we also can do functional analysis, where we look at the actual genes and pathways found in the microbes that are in your sample, something that is not possible when you sequence only one 16S gene.

Yes; our database contains tens of thousands of strains of bacteria alone (plus many more from other microbial kingdoms) and represents the collection of sequenced genomes in NCBI. We curate our database to remove contamination, poor quality, or mis-named strains.

Your microbiome is defined as the genetic material of the microorganisms that inhabit your gut. These microbes have many important roles and by sequencing their DNA we are able to identify them and help interpret what they are doing.

You will get a report with the microorganisms that were found in your sample and the quantities of each and how they compare to healthy populations.

This depends on where you are located but once you have purchased your kit, we will ship it as soon as possible and send you the tracking information. For US delivery, you should receive your kit within a few days. For International delivery, it may take as long as 2-3 weeks.

If you select the regular kit, you should receive results within 4-5 weeks after we receive your test.

Yes, you can order the expedited kit and you will receive your results in 1-2 weeks from the time we receive your sample.

This is the time it takes for you to receive your report from the date we receive your sample. Please consider this when planning a date that you will have your results by.

We cannot ship tests to the following states: Alaska, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, New Jersey.

Yes! The test is non-invasive and comes with instructions on how to easily collect your sample.

Yes, we are able to identify Candida and other fungi and protists in addition to bacteria, as long as there is genomic information available and a high enough abundance of the organism in the stool sample.

Yes, please email us at hello@nirvanabiome.com to request a sample report.

It is best to collect your sample when you have had a typical diet and habits for at least a few days to two weeks before testing. If you have been on antibiotics, traveled far from home, or had major dietary or lifestyle changes, it would be best to wait for a minimum of two weeks.

We do not provide raw data (this refers to the sequenced DNA bases in a file). We provide our analysis of this file by our bioinformatics software and you get the results of this analysis.