Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on innovative solutions for the agriculture sector. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we want to share our insights with you. This time, you will discover 5 promising microbiome analysis solutions.
Heat Map: 5 Top Microbiome Analysis Solutions
Using our StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 1.379.000+ startups & scaleups globally, we looked at innovation in the field of agriculture. For this research, we identified 115 relevant solutions and picked 5 to showcase below. These companies were chosen based on a data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, and relevance of technology, among others. Depending on your specific criteria, the top picks might look entirely different.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 startups & scaleups developing microbiome analysis solutions. Moreover, the Heat Map reveals regions that observe a high startup activity and illustrates the geographic distribution of all 115 companies we analyzed for this specific topic.
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Microbiome Insights – Microbial Community Analysis
In recent years, a large body of research has highlighted the role of the microbiome in shaping the environment microbes live in. For instance, microbes in the soil govern crucial factors such as nutrient uptake and soil composition. Agritech startups are employing microbiome analysis to better understand the microbial communities in different soils. Metagenome sequencing captures a snapshot of what the microbes are doing, which is often more crucial than simply quantifying the microbes.
Microbiome Insights is a Canadian startup that develops solutions for microbiome analysis and bioinformatics. The startup offers 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) sequencing for microbial community analysis. The solution helps agritech companies identify the bacteria in soil samples and take steps to increase crop yields. The startup also offers shotgun metagenome sequencing, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), to quantify the abundance of different bacteria in the soil.
Pattern Ag – Pathogen Detection
Bacteria, fungi, and viruses cause a variety of plant diseases, including blight, wilt, and brown rot. Microbiome analysis picks up signatures of all known microbes in a sample. This enables the quick and precise detection of pathogens from the soil sample. Startups develop microbiome analysis solutions to identify pathogens and then offer agronomists suitable recommendations to get rid of them.
The US-based startup Pattern Ag maps the soil microbiome to detect pathogens in soil samples. With microbiome analysis of soil from the fields, the startup quantifies the level of pathogen pressure. The solution allows farmers to identify white mold, nematodes, fungi, and bacteria. The startup then provides custom recommendations for each field to protect the crops. This helps farmers plan better to increase yield and minimize pesticide use.
Microomics – Functional Prebiotics
Agriculturists often add functional prebiotics, as well as probiotics, to animal feed. This promotes the beneficial bacteria in the animal gut, leading to overall improvements in livestock health. However, quantifying the effects of prebiotics on the animal gut and health remains a challenge. Microbiome analysis solutions compare the microbial diversity in the livestock’s gut before and after prebiotic use. This enables the precise quantification of the effects of prebiotic use.
Microomics is a Spanish startup that develops metagenomics solutions for agriculture, healthcare, and consumer goods. The startup uses RNA sequencing to determine the effect of functional prebiotics and probiotics on farm animals. This helps farmers identify the best prebiotics for their livestock. Microomics also offers solutions to characterize soil fertility and detect pathogens in crops.
Growcentia – Agricultural Biologicals
Agritech startups are working on a range of ag-biological products. Many startups work on novel biopesticides that prevent the destruction of crops. Other agricultural biologicals, such as growth stimulants, promote plant growth in harsh conditions. Microbiome analysis allows pharma startups to identify how these products affect the microbiome. This later leads to the development of more effective and precise ag-biological products.
The US-based startup Growcentia offers organically-derived plant growth stimulants. The startup’s platform enables the selection of highly-functional microbial consortia for use as ag-biological products. The platform uses microbial phenotyping and high-throughput molecular techniques to identify microbes that work together to promote growth. Since the solution promotes nutrient cycling processes, users of these products are able to increase the nutrient availability in plants.
BiomCare – Soil Health
Since soil health is the main indicator of crop health, agronomists and farmers are always looking for solutions to monitor it. Soil mapping enables the identification of high-yield soils and recommendations for low-yield soils. While chemical analysis of soil is a proven method, it doesn’t capture the diversity of microbes. The microbial analysis of soil provides thorough information about microbes and soil health and allows farmers to take appropriate remediation measures.
BiomCare is a Danish startup that offers microbiome analysis for agriculture and life science. The startup’s solution uses amplicon sequencing, shotgun sequencing, and biostatistical analysis to determine microbes in a soil sample, as well as what they are doing. BiomCare integrates microbial data with other metadata, such as plant yield and fertilizer use, to identify differences between soils from high yield and low yield areas.
What About The Other 110 Solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence and enable you to achieve your goals faster. The 5 microbiome analysis solutions showcased above are promising examples out of the 115 we analyzed for this article. To identify the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria, get in touch.
