Microbiome Explorer

Yes — any species whose primary site of colonisation is the mouth will be flagged. We use the Human Oral Microbiome Database, or HOMD, to identify these species. If they're detected in the stool sample, they're listed in the Microbiome Explorer report as oral species.

Microbiome Explorer can identify approximately 240 Archaea species, including methane producers such as Methanobrevibacter smithii.

The Microbiome Explorer range can identify around 425 protist species. That includes Blastocystis hominis and seven Blastocystis subtypes, which you'll find in the Protists section of Species Explorer.

Microbiome Explorer Comprehensive also detects five protist species and genera using a CE-certified RT-PCR test.

They're two very different approaches, and they answer different questions.

Shotgun metagenomic sequencing reads all the DNA in a sample. That means we can identify microbes down to species — and sometimes strain — level, and see their functional genes and pathways. It tells us both who's there and what they can do. It detects bacteria, fungi, protists, and Archaea, and can even discover entirely new species.

Culture-based methods grow live organisms in nutrient media. They're useful for confirming specific organisms with known growth requirements — pathogens, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus — and for testing antimicrobial susceptibility. But culture only captures a small subset of the microbiome. Current research suggests we only know the culture conditions for about 63% of gut microbes, and testing even that portion would require hundreds of different cultures.

In short, culture is great for targeted questions like pathogen detection. Shotgun metagenomics gives you the community-wide view — diversity and function in one test.

The healthy comparison group currently includes 484 people. They were carefully screened against strict health criteria, which makes them a reliable benchmark for interpreting your patient's results.

On average, around 200 species are detected in healthy individuals. The 25th to 75th percentile range of the healthy comparison group sits between 170 and 230 species.

Our database can identify over 190 species of Clostridium. Of those, 75 species have been detected in the Microba Discovery Database.

Microba follows all applicable notifiable disease reporting requirements for the jurisdictions we operate in. In the UK, if a notifiable organism is detected, we notify the UK Health Security Agency and contact the local Health Protection Team as required. The ordering practitioner is also informed directly.

If you have questions about reporting obligations specific to your region, our laboratory team can help.

Unfortunately, we're unable to accept samples from the USA due to differing regulatory requirements. Under US regulations, laboratory-developed tests like ours are subject to oversight by the Food and Drug Administration, and the compliance requirements mean we're not currently in a position to offer the service to US-based clients.

Microbiome Explorer is available in New Zealand, but with limited access — only the Essentials test is offered. Extended and Comprehensive aren't available in NZ at this stage.

To access the test, you can work with an Australian healthcare practitioner for a referral, or House of Health in Auckland also stocks our kits. We know it's important for people in New Zealand to have access to testing, so this is something we keep under review.

No — Insight samples can no longer be processed. We know some customers still have kits on hand, but as we communicated to all customers, we're no longer able to accept Insight samples. If you'd like advice on our current testing options, do reach out and we'll guide you through them.

Yes — kits should be used before their printed expiry date, and we recommend returning them within a year of receiving them. While kits are stable for an extended period, using them within their expiry ensures the reagents and preservatives remain effective and the collected sample stays stable until testing.

Microbiome Explorer Essentials is a comprehensive gut microbiome profile for overall gut health. It uses advanced metagenomic analysis to assess over 28,000 microbial species, including bacteria, fungi, and protists.

Microbiome Explorer Extended builds on the Essentials test with added clinical insight. It combines full microbiome profiling with TGA and CE-certified gastrointestinal markers — faecal occult blood, lactoferrin, calprotectin, secretory IgA, pancreatic elastase, and zonulin family peptides.

Microbiome Explorer Comprehensive is our most advanced test. It includes everything in Microbiome Explorer Extended, plus TGA and CE-certified pathogen and parasite detection panels — giving you the deepest possible look into gut health, microbiome activity, inflammation, and infection.

MetaPanel is an in-house diagnostic stool test offered through Sonic Healthcare in Australia. It uses Microba's metagenomics platform and reports on 175 GI targets — including pathogens, virulence factors, and antibiotic resistance genes. Results are reviewed by a pathologist, who also provides treatment recommendations.

Yes — all three product types are now available for purchase in the UK: Microbiome Explorer Essentials, Extended, and Comprehensive.

Microbiome Explorer doesn't directly test for H. pylori, though here's how it works in practice.

H. pylori will only show up if it's present at over 0.01% relative abundance. If a patient has an infection but it doesn't appear, it may be because the DNA has degraded and isn't detectable in stool. And because H. pylori mostly lives in the stomach lining — and we test the microbiome of the lower large intestine — it's uncommon to detect it in stool.

That said, if it is there in higher abundance, our metagenomics technology will typically find it. The gold standard for detection remains the Helicobacter breath test.

No — Microbiome Explorer doesn't test for SIBO, and we know that can be frustrating because SIBO is difficult to diagnose.

Here's why. SIBO means there are excessive — often gas-producing — colonic microbes in the small intestine. Microbiome Explorer looks at microbes in the distal colon, and we can't assume the microbes there are also present in the small intestine. The two environments are different.

If SIBO is suspected, patients should be referred for further testing. It's worth noting that there's currently no validated gold standard for SIBO testing across the field.

The Microbiome Explorer range is currently available in Australia and the United Kingdom.

In Australia, all three tests are available to practitioners — Essentials, Extended, and Comprehensive. In the UK, only the Comprehensive test is available, and it can be ordered by UK-based practitioners for UK clients.

For international referrals, you can refer the Essentials test to overseas clients from your practitioner portal. The Essentials swab doesn't contain a live sample and remains stable for up to six weeks at room temperature, so these kits can be shipped internationally and returned to our lab without issue. That makes Essentials the only suitable option for Australian practitioners referring clients outside Australia, including to the UK.

We know people around the world are interested in our services. At this stage, access is limited to patients within Australia and the UK, and testing must be organised through a qualified healthcare professional.

There are three levels of Microbiome Explorer testing, plus the MetaPanel test.

Microbiome Explorer Essentials gives you a comprehensive gut microbiome profile, assessing over 28,000 microbial species — bacteria, fungi, and protists.

Microbiome Explorer Extended includes everything in Essentials, plus TGA and CE-certified gastrointestinal markers — faecal occult blood, lactoferrin, calprotectin, secretory IgA, pancreatic elastase, and zonulin family peptides.

Microbiome Explorer Comprehensive is the most advanced option. It includes all the GI markers plus TGA and CE-certified pathogen and parasite detection panels, for a deep dive into gut health, functional microbiome activity, inflammation, and infectious organisms.

MetaPanel is a separate in-house diagnostic test available through Sonic Healthcare in Australia. It reports on 175 GI targets — including pathogens, virulence factors, and antibiotic resistance genes — with results reviewed by a pathologist.

There are plans to expand into other areas in future. We recognise the great potential of NGS technology beyond stool microbiome testing, and you'll be the first to know of any changes to the test portfolio as they're introduced.

Microbiome Explorer Comprehensive is currently available in Australia and the United Kingdom. In both regions, our services are accessed through qualified healthcare professionals.

We're expecting Microbiome Explorer to be available in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland during 2026.