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MIxS Checklist · ERC000016

human oral

Genomic Standards Consortium package extension for reporting of measurements and observations obtained from the environment where the sample was obtained. By choosing the environmental package, a selection of fields can be made from a relevant subsets of the GSC terms.

86 fields8 requiredmixsv1.0.0
SeqDesk offers this GSC MIxS environment checklist when you define studies and samples, so contributors enter exactly the metadata the standard expects. The catalog is kept in sync with the upstream GSC MIxS / ENA checklist definitions (registry v2), last updated 2026-06-03, and is published through our registry API. Source: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/ena/browser/view/ERC000016.

Organism characteristics: ecosystem

trophic levelOptional
trophic_level

Trophic levels are the feeding position in a food chain. Microbes can be a range of producers (e.g. chemolithotroph)

select30 options
observed biotic relationshipOptional
observed_biotic_relationship

Description of relationship(s) between the subject organism and other organism(s) it is associated with. E.g., parasite on species X; mutualist with species Y. The target organism is the subject of the relationship, and the other organism(s) is the object.

select5 options
known pathogenicityOptional
known_pathogenicity

To what is the entity pathogenic, for instance plant, fungi, bacteria

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relationship to oxygenOptional
relationship_to_oxygen

Is this organism an aerobe, anaerobe? Please note that aerobic and anaerobic are valid descriptors for microbial environments

select7 options
propagationOptional
propagation

The type of reproduction from the parent stock. Values for this field is specific to different taxa. For phage or virus: lytic/lysogenic/temperate/obligately lytic. For plasmids: incompatibility group. For eukaryotes: sexual/asexual. Mandatory for MIGs of eukayotes, plasmids and viruses.

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observed host symbiontsOptional
observed_host_symbionts

The taxonomic name of the organism(s) found living in mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasitic symbiosis with the specific host.

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sample collection: methods, storage and transport

sample collection deviceOptional
sample_collection_device

The device used to collect an environmental sample. It is recommended to use terms listed under environmental sampling device (http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ENVO) and/or terms listed under specimen collection device (http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GENEPIO_0002094).

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sample collection methodOptional
sample_collection_method

The method employed for collecting the sample. Can be provided in the form of a PMID, DOI, url or text.

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sample storage temperatureOptional
sample_storage_temperature

temperature at which sample was stored, e.g. -80

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sample storage locationOptional
sample_storage_location

Location at which sample was stored, usually name of a specific freezer/room. Indicate the location name.

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sample collection: core sample properties

oxygenation status of sampleOptional
oxygenation_status_of_sample

oxygenation status of sample

select2 options
medical history performedOptional
medical_history_performed

whether full medical history was collected

select2 options

non-sample terms: study or project

project nameRequired
project_name

Name of the project within which the sequencing was organized

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non-sample terms

ploidyOptional
ploidy

The ploidy level of the genome (e.g. allopolyploid, haploid, diploid, triploid, tetraploid). It has implications for the downstream study of duplicated gene and regions of the genomes (and perhaps for difficulties in assembly). For terms, please select terms listed under class ploidy (PATO:001374) of Phenotypic Quality Ontology (PATO), and for a browser of PATO (v 2018-03-27) please refer to http://purl.bioontology.org/ontology/PATO

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number of repliconsOptional
number_of_replicons

Reports the number of replicons in a nuclear genome of eukaryotes, in the genome of a bacterium or archaea or the number of segments in a segmented virus. Always applied to the haploid chromosome count of a eukaryote. Mandatory for MIGS of eukaryotes, bacteria, archaea and segmented virus.

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extrachromosomal elementsOptional
extrachromosomal_elements

Do plasmids exist of significant phenotypic consequence (e.g. ones that determine virulence or antibiotic resistance). Megaplasmids? Other plasmids (borrelia has 15+ plasmids).

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estimated sizeOptional
estimated_size

The estimated size of the genome (in bp) prior to sequencing. Of particular importance in the sequencing of (eukaryotic) genome which could remain in draft form for a long or unspecified period. Mandatory for MIGS of eukaryotes.

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target geneOptional
target_gene

Targeted gene or locus name for marker gene studies

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target subfragmentOptional
target_subfragment

Name of subfragment of a gene or locus. Important to e.g. identify special regions on marker genes like V6 on 16S rRNA

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multiplex identifiersOptional
multiplex_identifiers

Molecular barcodes, called Multiplex Identifiers (MIDs), that are used to specifically tag unique samples in a sequencing run. Sequence should be reported in uppercase letters

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sequence quality checkOptional
sequence_quality_check

Indicate if the sequence has been called by automatic systems (none) or undergone a manual editing procedure (e.g. by inspecting the raw data or chromatograms). Applied only for sequences that are not submitted to SRA or DRA

select3 options
chimera check softwareOptional
chimera_check_software

Tool(s) used for chimera checking, including version number and parameters, to discover and remove chimeric sequences. A chimeric sequence is comprised of two or more phylogenetically distinct parent sequences.

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relevant electronic resourcesOptional
relevant_electronic_resources

A related resource that is referenced, cited, or otherwise associated to the sequence in the format of a PMID, DOI or URL

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relevant standard operating proceduresOptional
relevant_standard_operating_procedures

Standard operating procedures used in assembly and/or annotation of genomes, metagenomes or environmental sequences in the format of a PMID, DOI or URL

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Collection event information

lat_lonOptional
lat_lon

geographical coordinates of the location where the specimen was collected

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collection dateRequired
collection_date

The date the sample was collected with the intention of sequencing, either as an instance (single point in time) or interval. In case no exact time is available, the date/time can be right truncated i.e. all of these are valid ISO8601 compliant times: 2008-01-23T19:23:10+00:00; 2008-01-23T19:23:10; 2008-01-23; 2008-01; 2008.

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altitudeOptional
altitude

The altitude of the sample is the vertical distance between Earth's surface above Sea Level and the sampled position in the air.

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geographic location (latitude)Required
geographic_location_latitude

The geographical origin of the sample as defined by latitude. The values should be reported in decimal degrees and in WGS84 system

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geographic location (longitude)Required
geographic_location_longitude

The geographical origin of the sample as defined by longitude. The values should be reported in decimal degrees and in WGS84 system

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geographic location (region and locality)Optional
geographic_location_region_and_locality

The geographical origin of the sample as defined by the specific region name followed by the locality name.

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broad-scale environmental contextRequired
broadscale_environmental_context

Report the major environmental system the sample or specimen came from. The system(s) identified should have a coarse spatial grain, to provide the general environmental context of where the sampling was done (e.g. in the desert or a rainforest). We recommend using subclasses of EnvO’s biome class: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ENVO_00000428. EnvO documentation about how to use the field: https://github.com/EnvironmentOntology/envo/wiki/Using-ENVO-with-MIxS.

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local environmental contextRequired
local_environmental_context

Report the entity or entities which are in the sample or specimen’s local vicinity and which you believe have significant causal influences on your sample or specimen. We recommend using EnvO terms which are of smaller spatial grain than your entry for "broad-scale environmental context". Terms, such as anatomical sites, from other OBO Library ontologies which interoperate with EnvO (e.g. UBERON) are accepted in this field. EnvO documentation about how to use the field: https://github.com/EnvironmentOntology/envo/wiki/Using-ENVO-with-MIxS.

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environmental mediumRequired
environmental_medium

Report the environmental material(s) immediately surrounding the sample or specimen at the time of sampling. We recommend using subclasses of 'environmental material' (http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ENVO_00010483). EnvO documentation about how to use the field: https://github.com/EnvironmentOntology/envo/wiki/Using-ENVO-with-MIxS . Terms from other OBO ontologies are permissible as long as they reference mass/volume nouns (e.g. air, water, blood) and not discrete, countable entities (e.g. a tree, a leaf, a table top).

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elevationOptional
elevation

The elevation of the sampling site as measured by the vertical distance from mean sea level.

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sample collection

amount or size of sample collectedOptional
amount_or_size_of_sample_collected

The total amount or size (volume (ml), mass (g) or area (m2) ) of sample collected.

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organism countOptional
organism_count

Total cell count of any organism (or group of organisms) per gram, volume or area of sample, should include name of organism followed by count. The method that was used for the enumeration (e.g. qPCR, atp, mpn, etc.) Should also be provided. (example: total prokaryotes; 3.5e7 cells per ml; qpcr)

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Organism characteristics

sample storage durationOptional
sample_storage_duration

Duration for which the sample was stored. Indicate the duration for which the sample was stored written in ISO 8601 format.

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geographic location (country and/or sea)Required
geographic_location_country_andor_sea

The geographical origin of where the sample was collected from, with the intention of sequencing, as defined by the country or sea name. Country or sea names should be chosen from the INSDC country list (http://insdc.org/country.html).

select294 options

host disorder

nose/mouth/teeth/throat disorderOptional
nosemouthteeththroat_disorder

History of nose/mouth/teeth/throat disorders; can include multiple disorders. The terms should be chosen from the DO (Human Disease Ontology) at http://www.disease-ontology.org, nose disease (https://disease-ontology.org/?id=DOID:2825), mouth disease (https://disease-ontology.org/?id=DOID:403), tooth disease (https://disease-ontology.org/?id=DOID:1091), or upper respiratory tract disease (https://disease-ontology.org/?id=DOID:974).

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host disease statusOptional
host_disease_status

list of diseases with which the host has been diagnosed; can include multiple diagnoses. The value of the field depends on host; for humans the terms should be chosen from DO (Disease Ontology) at http://www.disease-ontology.org, other hosts are free text

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host description

host subject idOptional
host_subject_id

a unique identifier by which each subject can be referred to, de-identified, e.g. #131

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IHMC medication codeOptional
ihmc_medication_code

can include multiple medication codes

select22 options
host ageOptional
host_age

age of host at the time of sampling; relevant scale depends on species and study, e.g. could be seconds for amoebae or centuries for trees

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host body siteOptional
host_body_site

name of body site where the sample was obtained from, such as a specific organ or tissue (tongue, lung etc...). For Foundational Model of Anatomy Ontology (FMA) (v 3.1) terms, please see http://purl.bioontology.org/ontology/FMA

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host heightOptional
host_height

the height of subject

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host body-mass indexOptional
host_bodymass_index

body mass index, calculated as weight/(height)squared

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ethnicityOptional
ethnicity

A category of people who identify with each other, usually on the basis of presumed similarities such as a common language, ancestry, history, society, culture, nation or social treatment within their residing area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_contemporary_ethnic_groups

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host occupationOptional
host_occupation

most frequent job performed by subject

select48 options
host total massOptional
host_total_mass

total mass of the host at collection, the unit depends on host

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host phenotypeOptional
host_phenotype

phenotype of host. For Phenotypic quality Ontology (PATO) (v 2013-10-28) terms, please see http://purl.bioontology.org/ontology/PATO

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host body temperatureOptional
host_body_temperature

core body temperature of the host when sample was collected

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host sexOptional
host_sex

Gender or sex of the host.

select17 options
host scientific nameOptional
host_scientific_name

Scientific name of the natural (as opposed to laboratory) host to the organism from which sample was obtained.

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local environment conditions

temperatureOptional
temperature

temperature of the sample at time of sampling

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concentration measurement

salinityOptional
salinity

The total concentration of all dissolved salts in a liquid or solid sample. While salinity can be measured by a complete chemical analysis, this method is difficult and time consuming. More often, it is instead derived from the conductivity measurement. This is known as practical salinity. These derivations compare the specific conductance of the sample to a salinity standard such as seawater.

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Pointer to physical material

source material identifiersOptional
source_material_identifiers

A unique identifier assigned to a material sample (as defined by http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/materialSampleID, and as opposed to a particular digital record of a material sample) used for extracting nucleic acids, and subsequent sequencing. The identifier can refer either to the original material collected or to any derived sub-samples. The INSDC qualifiers /specimen_voucher, /bio_material, or /culture_collection may or may not share the same value as the source_mat_id field. For instance, the /specimen_voucher qualifier and source_mat_id may both contain 'UAM:Herps:14' , referring to both the specimen voucher and sampled tissue with the same identifier. However, the /culture_collection qualifier may refer to a value from an initial culture (e.g. ATCC:11775) while source_mat_id would refer to an identifier from some derived culture from which the nucleic acids were extracted (e.g. xatc123 or ark:/2154/R2).

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host details

time since last toothbrushingOptional
time_since_last_toothbrushing

specification of the time since last toothbrushing

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host dietOptional
host_diet

type of diet depending on the host, for animals omnivore, herbivore etc., for humans high-fat, Mediterranean etc.; can include multiple diet types

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host last mealOptional
host_last_meal

content of last meal and time since feeding; can include multiple values

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host family relationshipOptional
host_family_relationship

Familial relationships to other hosts in the same study; can include multiple relationships

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host genotypeOptional
host_genotype

observed genotype

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host pulseOptional
host_pulse

resting pulse, measured as beats per minute

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host body productOptional
host_body_product

substance produced by the body, e.g. stool, mucus, where the sample was obtained from. For Foundational Model of Anatomy Ontology (FMA) (v 3.1) terms, please see http://purl.bioontology.org/ontology/FMA

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treatment

perturbationOptional
perturbation

type of perturbation, e.g. chemical administration, physical disturbance, etc., coupled with time that perturbation occurred; can include multiple perturbation types

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experimental factor and block

negative control typeOptional
negative_control_type

The substance or equipment used as a negative control in an investigation

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positive control typeOptional
positive_control_type

The substance, mixture, product, or apparatus used to verify that a process which is part of an investigation delivers a true positive.

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experimental factorOptional
experimental_factor

Experimental factors are essentially the variable aspects of an experiment design which can be used to describe an experiment, or set of experiments, in an increasingly detailed manner. This field accepts ontology terms from Experimental Factor Ontology (EFO) and/or Ontology for Biomedical Investigations (OBI). For a browser of EFO (v 2.95) terms, please see http://purl.bioontology.org/ontology/EFO; for a browser of OBI (v 2018-02-12) terms please see http://purl.bioontology.org/ontology/OBI. E.g. time series design [EFO:EFO_0001779]

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Organism characteristics: genetic

encoded traitsOptional
encoded_traits

Should include key traits like antibiotic resistance or xenobiotic degradation phenotypes for plasmids, converting genes for phage

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subspecific genetic lineageOptional
subspecific_genetic_lineage

Information about the genetic distinctness of the sequenced organism below the subspecies level, e.g., serovar, serotype, biotype, ecotype, or any relevant genetic typing schemes like Group I plasmid. Subspecies should not be recorded in this term, but in the NCBI taxonomy. Supply both the lineage name and the lineage rank separated by a colon, e.g., biovar:abc123.

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taxonomic classificationOptional
taxonomic_classification

Method used for taxonomic classification, along with reference database used, classification rank, and thresholds used to classify new genomes. Expected values are: classification method, database name, and other parameters e.g. vConTACT vContact2 (references from NCBI RefSeq v83, genus rank classification, default parameters)

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Reference

isolation and growth conditionOptional
isolation_and_growth_condition

Publication reference in the form of pubmed ID (pmid), digital object identifier (doi) or url for isolation and growth condition specifications of the organism/material. Mandatory for MIGS and MIMARKS Specimen.

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annotation sourceOptional
annotation_source

For cases where annotation was provided by a community jamboree or model organism database rather than by a specific submitter

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reference for biomaterialOptional
reference_for_biomaterial

Primary publication if isolated before genome publication; otherwise, primary genome report. Mandatory for MIGS of bacteria and archaea.

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sample processing

sample material processingOptional
sample_material_processing

A brief description of any processing applied to the sample during or after retrieving the sample from environment, or a link to the relevant protocol(s) performed.

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sample volume or weight for DNA extractionOptional
sample_volume_or_weight_for_dna_extraction

Volume (ml) or mass (g) of total collected sample processed for DNA extraction. Note: total sample collected should be entered under the term 'sample size'.

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nucleic acid extractionOptional
nucleic_acid_extraction

A link to a literature reference, electronic resource or a standard operating procedure (SOP), that describes the material separation to recover the nucleic acid fraction from a sample

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nucleic acid amplificationOptional
nucleic_acid_amplification

A link to a literature reference, electronic resource or a standard operating procedure (SOP), that describes the enzymatic amplification (PCR, TMA, NASBA) of specific nucleic acids

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library sizeOptional
library_size

Total number of clones in the library prepared for the project

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library reads sequencedOptional
library_reads_sequenced

Total number of clones sequenced from the library

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library construction methodOptional
library_construction_method

Library construction method used for clone libraries

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library vectorOptional
library_vector

Cloning vector type(s) used in construction of libraries

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library screening strategyOptional
library_screening_strategy

Specific enrichment or screening methods applied before and/or after creating clone libraries in order to select a specific group of sequences

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pcr conditionsOptional
pcr_conditions

Description of reaction conditions and components for PCR in the form of 'initial denaturation:94degC_1.5min; annealing=...'

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pcr primersOptional
pcr_primers

PCR primers that were used to amplify the sequence of the targeted gene, locus or subfragment. This field should contain all the primers used for a single PCR reaction if multiple forward or reverse primers are present in a single PCR reaction. The primer sequence should be reported in uppercase letters

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adaptersOptional
adapters

Adapters provide priming sequences for both amplification and sequencing of the sample-library fragments. Both adapters should be reported; in uppercase letters

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local environment conditions imposed

chemical administrationOptional
chemical_administration

list of chemical compounds administered to the host or site where sampling occurred, and when (e.g. antibiotics, N fertilizer, air filter); can include multiple compounds. For Chemical Entities of Biological Interest ontology (CHEBI) (v111), please see http://purl.bioontology.org/ontology/CHEBI

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