In recent years, research into microbiomes has exploded. To comprehensively understand the dynamic structure of microbiomes and their interaction with (host) environments, tools which go beyond metagenomic profiling are deemed required.

One such unique perspective is offered by phenotypic profiling, which based on the cellular metabolism of living cells and cellular communities permit the high-throughput quantitative evaluation of thousands of cellular phenotypes at once. Through precise quantitation of phenotypes, the impact of genetic differences, microbiome composition, environmental fluctuations, and drug exposure be assessed.

To empower high-throughput phenotypic profiling of microbial cells and communities, this application concerns the acquisition of the OmniLog Phenotype MicroArray system, an instrument capable of simultaneously capturing a large number of phenotypes by automatically recording an organism's respiration on distinct substrates over time.