Leucine Rich Bio builds gut microbiome testing workflows that convert stool samples into clinically relevant microbial insights through sequencing and downstream microbiome analysis. As testing volumes increased, one upstream step started consuming a disproportionate amount of time and operational effort: microbial DNA extraction.

For microbiome labs, stool is one of the hardest sample types to process consistently. Sample composition varies significantly from person to person. Inhibitor levels fluctuate. DNA yield can be unpredictable. Even when sequencing pipelines are standardized, variability during extraction can create inconsistencies that affect everything downstream.

At Leucine, the challenge was becoming operationally visible as volumes grew.

The laboratory was already processing nearly 1000 samples every month, with demand increasing by roughly 30% quarter-on-quarter. But extraction was still heavily dependent on manual workflows. Technicians spent hours every day performing repetitive extraction steps before samples could even move into sequencing.

“Getting DNA quickly was a challenge, and consistency between samples was missing,” the team explains.

The issue was not simply turnaround time. In microbiome sequencing workflows, reproducibility during extraction directly affects downstream analysis quality. When sample-to-sample variation increases upstream, troubleshooting becomes harder later in the workflow.

Leucine needed an extraction process that could support growth without continuously increasing manual effort alongside it.

Moving extraction from manual work to operational infrastructure

The lab adopted Manta to automate routine microbial DNA extraction workflows.

The immediate advantage was not just speed - it was consistency. Extraction workflows became more standardized across highly variable stool samples, helping reduce day-to-day variability within the sequencing pipeline.

At the same time, the operational burden on technicians dropped significantly.

“During extractions, we used to spend hours and hours doing just extraction,” the team says. “Now within a few minutes the DNA is extracted, and we can have multiple runs going on in a single day.”

This changed how extraction fit into the broader testing workflow. Instead of becoming a daily bottleneck, extraction became easier to schedule, easier to scale, and easier for the team to manage consistently.

Building a workflow that could grow sustainably

For Leucine Rich Bio, automation became increasingly important because of the pace at which testing volumes were growing.

Growth snapshot

“When you have volume, automation becomes a no-brainer,” the team explains.

But one of the more important lessons from their experience was that automation becomes valuable much earlier than most labs expect.

The team emphasized that throughput alone should not be the trigger for automation. Even smaller sequencing labs can benefit from the consistency and workflow standardization automation introduces upstream.

“I would not wait until you reach very high sample numbers before moving into automation,” the team says. “Any lab doing even a small amount of sequencing should think about automation for consistency - not only volume.”

That insight is particularly relevant for microbiome workflows, where upstream variability can quietly affect downstream sequencing quality and analytical reproducibility.

For Leucine Rich Bio, Manta did more than reduce extraction time. It helped turn microbial DNA extraction into a workflow that could support sustained growth while remaining operationally manageable for the team running it every day.