CHAMP™ Human Microbiome and Functional Profiling
The CHAMP™ Human Microbiome Profiler is a powerful taxonomic and functional pipeline that provides high-resolution insights into microbial communities. Utilizing advanced profiling methods, curated reference databases, and robust statistical models, CHAMP™ accurately identifies microbial species and integrates multi-omic data to reveal associations between microbiome diversity and health outcomes.
CHAMP™ is published in Frontiers in Microbiology!
Read about pipeline and benchmarking stats in our recent paper, “CHAMP delivers accurate taxonomic profiles of the prokaryotes, eukaryotes, and bacteriophages in the human microbiome”
How was CHAMP™ developed?
CHAMP™ employs over 400,000 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), created from a collection of more than 30,000 microbiome samples from individuals across the world. These samples were sourced from 9 different human body sites including but not limited to: gut (stool and small intestine), vagina, skin and mouth. From this extensive human microbiome data collection, we have identified almost 7000 bacteria, archaea, and eukaryote species, including many newly discovered species. This is the foundation of our microbiome analysis services.
CHAMP™ provides the most accurate and sensitive microbiome profiling data thanks to the following features:
- High sensitivity - Detects low abundant and rare species in samples.
- Superior specificity - Exclusively detects species actually present in samples.
- Abundance accuracy - Provides correct abundance estimations.
- Accurate taxonomic annotation - Microorganisms correctly annotated at species resolution.
Additionally, taxa within database are linked to functional annotations from Gut-Brain Module (GBM), Gut-Metabolic Module (GMM), and KEGG.
CHAMP™ Benchmarking
CHAMP™ demonstrates best-in-class performance using both CAMI and NIBSC benchmarks against the best and most widely used profiling pipelines in the field.
- Compared to MetaPhlAn4, CHAMP™ showed 16% greater sensitivity (recall) across different human body sites and showed an astounding 400 times lower false signal in the NIBSC mock community benchmark compared to state-of-the-art profilers (MetaPhlAn4, Centrifuge, Kraken, and Bracken). This means that when CHAMP™ detects something, you can trust it’s there.
- CHAMP™ uses the latest GTDB annotation which includes more rare species and, compared to NCBI, often classifies sub-species as species in their own right.
Best-in-class microbiome profiling data
Combining the world’s most comprehensive reference catalogue for human-associated microbes with a proprietary algorithm for detection and abundance estimation of species, CHAMP™ provides you with the best microbiome data for further analysis.
For analyzing low biomass samples, searching for very rare species, profiling the microbiome of large-scale population health studies, or designing next generation probiotics or live biotherapeutics, CHAMP™ sets new standards in sensitivity and accuracy for microbiome research.
CHAMP™ also provides phage and virome profiling and advanced functional annotations. Furthermore, with the addition of our clonal-level analysis tool, it can separate very closely related strains, helping researchers understand the dynamics between probiotics/therapeutic microbes and endogenous populations of the same species.
CHAMP™ is available as part of our end-to-end human microbiome research services or as a standalone service for profiling or re-profiling of shotgun sequencing data.
By combining high-precision microbiome profiling with customizable analysis workflows, CHAMP enables researchers to efficiently explore the vast landscape of microbial interactions within the human body, ultimately advancing our understanding of microbiome-related diseases and therapies.