Metagenomic identification of bacteria isolated from a do-it-yourself gene editing kit from the company "the Odin"

Kits for do-it-yourself biology are sold as educational material to private people and are becoming increasingly popular. Recently, the state authorities for health and food safety of Bavaria analyzed a kit for DIY gene editing experiments, sold by the US based company "the Odin", and reported the presence of potentially pathogenic bacteria contaminants. Because of the potential threat to the health of users, the finding resulted in an import ban to Germany of all products of this company. While previous analyses have been based on metabolic characterization and identification of the bacteria species, here we provide a complementary approach based on sequencing. Out of three samples from independently collected kits, only one formed colonies on agar. Eleven colonies were subjected to DNA extraction, library preparation and sequencing. The results show the presence of additional bacteria species other than the one claimed by “the Odin”, supporting the claims by the Bavarian authorities of a bacterial contamination.