The microbiome is everywhere. In the soil, in plants, in animals, in you… and as we found out in a pioneering study with Henkel, even in washing machines! It's made up of communities of tiny organisms like bacteria, fungi, and viruses. In the past, the mere mention of those invisible multitudes had us reaching for the hand sanitiser!
However, it's becoming increasingly clear that the right microbial combinations can work wonders, benefiting not just us but also animals, plants, soil, and more. Conversely, disrupting this delicate balance with inappropriate chemicals can lead to adverse effects. Today's scientists recognise the microbiome as a frontier of innovation.
In our partnership with Henkel, we focused on understanding the impact of probiotics on home care. Eagle Genomics developed a state-of-the art pipeline to analyse microbial metatranscritpomic data to compare samples from washing machines treated with probiotics vs those without. We found that treated washing machines had decreased pathogen and multi-drug resistant bacteria and increased beneficial bacteria that support a healthy skin microbiome. This promising result may form the basis of more in-depth investigations and could lead to product innovation and improved laundry/washing machine microbiome profiles, which could ultimately have downstream benefits on health and well-being. You can find out more about the study here: link
We are proud to have played a role in this pioneering work with Henkel. In the longer term, this may also help elucidate unexplored and undiscovered interplays between people and the goods they use in their daily lives. Whether companies or research organisations are taking their first steps into the microbiome and just looking to understand what’s there, or whether they’re commercialising their data by finding scientific backing for their claims, Eagle Genomics can support the journey, driving value for businesses and creating benefits for our planet.