Metadata · interactive

The MIxS iceberg

SeqDesk2026-06-03Interactive

MIxS is a widely used standard for describing a sequenced sample — one shared vocabulary across 29 ENA/GSC checklists. Scroll down to see how much is shared across all checklists and how much is specific to individual ones.

527 fields60% of all 880 — each used by one checklist880 unique fields · 2,798 field-slots · 29 checklistscollection_date · in all 29the shared core6 fields in ≥25 of 29waterline = shared by ≥25 of 29

What do all 29 checklists actually agree on?

Start at the waterline

Picture the 29 checklists as one body of water. The waterline marks what almost every checklist agrees on. Above it is consensus; below it, the specialised vocabulary each community brought of its own.

One field is truly universal

Exactly one field is on all 29 checklists: collection_date. Not the organism, not the location — just when the sample was taken. It sits right at the tip, and it’s the only field every checklist also makes mandatory.

Six fields are near-universal

Widen the bar to “shared by ≥25 of 29” and the tip grows to 6 fields — collection_date, geographic location (×4) and project_name. So both numbers are true: 1 is universal, 6 are near-universal. That tiny tip is the whole shared core.

Below the surface: the 60%

Now draw the rest. 527 fields (60%) sit below the waterline — each used by a single checklist. The shared core is small; the bulk of MIxS fields are specific to individual checklists.

The deep is sorted by domain

The deep isn’t noise. Every one-off field belongs to one community — soil, the human gut, a viral pathogen — so it sorts into domain families (the colours). Lower a sounding line through the whole standard just below.

One field on all of them, almost none shared by most

Across the 29 checklists there are 2,798 field-slots but only 880 distinct fields. Exactly one — collection_date — is on every checklist; just 6 are shared by 25 or more; and 527 (60%) appear in a single checklist. The deep isn’t random, though: each one-off field belongs to a community — soil, the human gut, a viral pathogen — so the tail sorts itself into domain families, which is what the colours in the grid below show.

Lower a sounding line through the standard

A field × checklist heatmap. Each row is a field; each column a checklist. Click any cell to see exactly where that field lives.

EnvironmentalHumanHost/organismSeq-qualityPathogen/generic
built environm…built environment · 214 fields, 21 requiredagricultureagriculture · 177 fields, 2 requiredHydrocarbonHydrocarbon · 148 fields, 2 requiredwaterwater · 134 fields, 9 requiredsedimentsediment · 119 fields, 10 requiredmicrobial mat …microbial mat biolfilm · 113 fields, 10 requiredsoilsoil · 109 fields, 10 requiredmiscellaneous …miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · 94 fields, 8 requiredwastewater slu…wastewater sludge · 91 fields, 8 requiredairair · 77 fields, 9 requiredTara OceansTara Oceans · 33 fields, 16 requiredhuman associat…human associated · 103 fields, 8 requiredhuman vaginalhuman vaginal · 94 fields, 8 requiredhuman guthuman gut · 86 fields, 8 requiredhuman oralhuman oral · 86 fields, 8 requiredhuman skinhuman skin · 86 fields, 8 requiredplant associat…plant associated · 125 fields, 8 requiredSymbiontSymbiont · 113 fields, 2 requiredhost associatedhost associated · 99 fields, 8 requiredFood and Produ…Food and Production · 273 fields, 2 requiredMIUVIGSMIUVIGS · 70 fields, 19 requiredMISAGSMISAGS · 58 fields, 14 requiredMIMAGSMIMAGS · 57 fields, 18 requiredbinned metagen…binned metagenome · 52 fields, 14 requiredTree of Life C…Tree of Life Checklist · 42 fields, 10 requiredInfluenza viru…Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · 59 fields, 13 requiredvirus pathogen…virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · 36 fields, 10 requireddefault sample…default sample checklist · 30 fields, 2 requiredprokaryotic pa…prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · 20 fields, 6 requiredSurfaceon all 29 checklistsShallowsthe near-universal core (≥25)Mid-watercommon, not everywhere (23–24)The deep527 fields, each in one checklist — 12 showncollection datecollection date — in 29 of 29, required in 29collection date — built environment · requiredcollection date — agriculture · requiredcollection date — Hydrocarbon · requiredcollection date — water · requiredcollection date — sediment · requiredcollection date — microbial mat biolfilm · requiredcollection date — soil · requiredcollection date — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · requiredcollection date — wastewater sludge · requiredcollection date — air · requiredcollection date — Tara Oceans · requiredcollection date — human associated · requiredcollection date — human vaginal · requiredcollection date — human gut · requiredcollection date — human oral · requiredcollection date — human skin · requiredcollection date — plant associated · requiredcollection date — Symbiont · requiredcollection date — host associated · requiredcollection date — Food and Production · requiredcollection date — MIUVIGS · requiredcollection date — MISAGS · requiredcollection date — MIMAGS · requiredcollection date — binned metagenome · requiredcollection date — Tree of Life Checklist · requiredcollection date — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · requiredcollection date — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · requiredcollection date — default sample checklist · requiredcollection date — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · requiredgeo region and localitygeo region and locality — in 27 of 29, required in 1geo region and locality — built environment · optionalgeo region and locality — agriculture · optionalgeo region and locality — Hydrocarbon · optionalgeo region and locality — water · optionalgeo region and locality — sediment · optionalgeo region and locality — microbial mat biolfilm · optionalgeo region and locality — soil · optionalgeo region and locality — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · optionalgeo region and locality — wastewater sludge · optionalgeo region and locality — air · optionalgeo region and locality — Tara Oceans · not in this checklistgeo region and locality — human associated · optionalgeo region and locality — human vaginal · optionalgeo region and locality — human gut · optionalgeo region and locality — human oral · optionalgeo region and locality — human skin · optionalgeo region and locality — plant associated · optionalgeo region and locality — Symbiont · optionalgeo region and locality — host associated · optionalgeo region and locality — Food and Production · optionalgeo region and locality — MIUVIGS · optionalgeo region and locality — MISAGS · optionalgeo region and locality — MIMAGS · optionalgeo region and locality — binned metagenome · not in this checklistgeo region and locality — Tree of Life Checklist · requiredgeo region and locality — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · optionalgeo region and locality — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · optionalgeo region and locality — default sample checklist · optionalgeo region and locality — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · optionalgeo country / seageo country / sea — in 26 of 29, required in 26geo country / sea — built environment · requiredgeo country / sea — agriculture · requiredgeo country / sea — Hydrocarbon · requiredgeo country / sea — water · requiredgeo country / sea — sediment · requiredgeo country / sea — microbial mat biolfilm · requiredgeo country / sea — soil · requiredgeo country / sea — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · requiredgeo country / sea — wastewater sludge · requiredgeo country / sea — air · requiredgeo country / sea — Tara Oceans · requiredgeo country / sea — human associated · requiredgeo country / sea — human vaginal · requiredgeo country / sea — human gut · requiredgeo country / sea — human oral · requiredgeo country / sea — human skin · requiredgeo country / sea — plant associated · requiredgeo country / sea — Symbiont · requiredgeo country / sea — host associated · requiredgeo country / sea — Food and Production · requiredgeo country / sea — MIUVIGS · requiredgeo country / sea — MISAGS · requiredgeo country / sea — MIMAGS · not in this checklistgeo country / sea — binned metagenome · not in this checklistgeo country / sea — Tree of Life Checklist · requiredgeo country / sea — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · requiredgeo country / sea — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · requiredgeo country / sea — default sample checklist · not in this checklistgeo country / sea — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · requiredgeo latitudegeo latitude — in 26 of 29, required in 19geo latitude — built environment · requiredgeo latitude — agriculture · optionalgeo latitude — Hydrocarbon · optionalgeo latitude — water · requiredgeo latitude — sediment · requiredgeo latitude — microbial mat biolfilm · requiredgeo latitude — soil · requiredgeo latitude — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · requiredgeo latitude — wastewater sludge · requiredgeo latitude — air · requiredgeo latitude — Tara Oceans · not in this checklistgeo latitude — human associated · requiredgeo latitude — human vaginal · requiredgeo latitude — human gut · requiredgeo latitude — human oral · requiredgeo latitude — human skin · requiredgeo latitude — plant associated · requiredgeo latitude — Symbiont · optionalgeo latitude — host associated · requiredgeo latitude — Food and Production · optionalgeo latitude — MIUVIGS · requiredgeo latitude — MISAGS · requiredgeo latitude — MIMAGS · requiredgeo latitude — binned metagenome · requiredgeo latitude — Tree of Life Checklist · optionalgeo latitude — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · optionalgeo latitude — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · optionalgeo latitude — default sample checklist · not in this checklistgeo latitude — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklistgeo longitudegeo longitude — in 26 of 29, required in 19geo longitude — built environment · requiredgeo longitude — agriculture · optionalgeo longitude — Hydrocarbon · optionalgeo longitude — water · requiredgeo longitude — sediment · requiredgeo longitude — microbial mat biolfilm · requiredgeo longitude — soil · requiredgeo longitude — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · requiredgeo longitude — wastewater sludge · requiredgeo longitude — air · requiredgeo longitude — Tara Oceans · not in this checklistgeo longitude — human associated · requiredgeo longitude — human vaginal · requiredgeo longitude — human gut · requiredgeo longitude — human oral · requiredgeo longitude — human skin · requiredgeo longitude — plant associated · requiredgeo longitude — Symbiont · optionalgeo longitude — host associated · requiredgeo longitude — Food and Production · optionalgeo longitude — MIUVIGS · requiredgeo longitude — MISAGS · requiredgeo longitude — MIMAGS · requiredgeo longitude — binned metagenome · requiredgeo longitude — Tree of Life Checklist · optionalgeo longitude — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · optionalgeo longitude — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · optionalgeo longitude — default sample checklist · not in this checklistgeo longitude — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklistproject nameproject name — in 25 of 29, required in 21project name — built environment · requiredproject name — agriculture · optionalproject name — Hydrocarbon · optionalproject name — water · requiredproject name — sediment · requiredproject name — microbial mat biolfilm · requiredproject name — soil · requiredproject name — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · requiredproject name — wastewater sludge · requiredproject name — air · requiredproject name — Tara Oceans · requiredproject name — human associated · requiredproject name — human vaginal · requiredproject name — human gut · requiredproject name — human oral · requiredproject name — human skin · requiredproject name — plant associated · requiredproject name — Symbiont · optionalproject name — host associated · requiredproject name — Food and Production · optionalproject name — MIUVIGS · requiredproject name — MISAGS · requiredproject name — MIMAGS · requiredproject name — binned metagenome · requiredproject name — Tree of Life Checklist · requiredproject name — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistproject name — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistproject name — default sample checklist · not in this checklistproject name — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklistenvironmental mediumenvironmental medium — in 24 of 29, required in 20environmental medium — built environment · requiredenvironmental medium — agriculture · optionalenvironmental medium — Hydrocarbon · optionalenvironmental medium — water · requiredenvironmental medium — sediment · requiredenvironmental medium — microbial mat biolfilm · requiredenvironmental medium — soil · requiredenvironmental medium — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · requiredenvironmental medium — wastewater sludge · requiredenvironmental medium — air · requiredenvironmental medium — Tara Oceans · requiredenvironmental medium — human associated · requiredenvironmental medium — human vaginal · requiredenvironmental medium — human gut · requiredenvironmental medium — human oral · requiredenvironmental medium — human skin · requiredenvironmental medium — plant associated · requiredenvironmental medium — Symbiont · optionalenvironmental medium — host associated · requiredenvironmental medium — Food and Production · optionalenvironmental medium — MIUVIGS · requiredenvironmental medium — MISAGS · requiredenvironmental medium — MIMAGS · requiredenvironmental medium — binned metagenome · requiredenvironmental medium — Tree of Life Checklist · not in this checklistenvironmental medium — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistenvironmental medium — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistenvironmental medium — default sample checklist · not in this checklistenvironmental medium — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklistlocal environmental con…local environmental context — in 24 of 29, required in 20local environmental context — built environment · requiredlocal environmental context — agriculture · optionallocal environmental context — Hydrocarbon · optionallocal environmental context — water · requiredlocal environmental context — sediment · requiredlocal environmental context — microbial mat biolfilm · requiredlocal environmental context — soil · requiredlocal environmental context — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · requiredlocal environmental context — wastewater sludge · requiredlocal environmental context — air · requiredlocal environmental context — Tara Oceans · requiredlocal environmental context — human associated · requiredlocal environmental context — human vaginal · requiredlocal environmental context — human gut · requiredlocal environmental context — human oral · requiredlocal environmental context — human skin · requiredlocal environmental context — plant associated · requiredlocal environmental context — Symbiont · optionallocal environmental context — host associated · requiredlocal environmental context — Food and Production · optionallocal environmental context — MIUVIGS · requiredlocal environmental context — MISAGS · requiredlocal environmental context — MIMAGS · requiredlocal environmental context — binned metagenome · requiredlocal environmental context — Tree of Life Checklist · not in this checklistlocal environmental context — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistlocal environmental context — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistlocal environmental context — default sample checklist · not in this checklistlocal environmental context — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklistelevationelevation — in 24 of 29, required in 3elevation — built environment · optionalelevation — agriculture · optionalelevation — Hydrocarbon · optionalelevation — water · optionalelevation — sediment · requiredelevation — microbial mat biolfilm · requiredelevation — soil · requiredelevation — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · optionalelevation — wastewater sludge · optionalelevation — air · optionalelevation — Tara Oceans · not in this checklistelevation — human associated · optionalelevation — human vaginal · optionalelevation — human gut · optionalelevation — human oral · optionalelevation — human skin · optionalelevation — plant associated · optionalelevation — Symbiont · optionalelevation — host associated · optionalelevation — Food and Production · optionalelevation — MIUVIGS · optionalelevation — MISAGS · optionalelevation — MIMAGS · optionalelevation — binned metagenome · optionalelevation — Tree of Life Checklist · optionalelevation — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistelevation — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistelevation — default sample checklist · not in this checklistelevation — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklisthost scientific namehost scientific name — in 24 of 29, required in 3host scientific name — built environment · optionalhost scientific name — agriculture · optionalhost scientific name — Hydrocarbon · optionalhost scientific name — water · optionalhost scientific name — sediment · optionalhost scientific name — microbial mat biolfilm · optionalhost scientific name — soil · optionalhost scientific name — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · optionalhost scientific name — wastewater sludge · optionalhost scientific name — air · optionalhost scientific name — Tara Oceans · not in this checklisthost scientific name — human associated · optionalhost scientific name — human vaginal · optionalhost scientific name — human gut · optionalhost scientific name — human oral · optionalhost scientific name — human skin · optionalhost scientific name — plant associated · optionalhost scientific name — Symbiont · optionalhost scientific name — host associated · optionalhost scientific name — Food and Production · optionalhost scientific name — MIUVIGS · optionalhost scientific name — MISAGS · not in this checklisthost scientific name — MIMAGS · not in this checklisthost scientific name — binned metagenome · not in this checklisthost scientific name — Tree of Life Checklist · not in this checklisthost scientific name — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · requiredhost scientific name — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · requiredhost scientific name — default sample checklist · optionalhost scientific name — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · requiredsample collection methodsample collection method — in 24 of 29, required in 0sample collection method — built environment · optionalsample collection method — agriculture · optionalsample collection method — Hydrocarbon · optionalsample collection method — water · optionalsample collection method — sediment · optionalsample collection method — microbial mat biolfilm · optionalsample collection method — soil · optionalsample collection method — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · optionalsample collection method — wastewater sludge · optionalsample collection method — air · optionalsample collection method — Tara Oceans · not in this checklistsample collection method — human associated · optionalsample collection method — human vaginal · optionalsample collection method — human gut · optionalsample collection method — human oral · optionalsample collection method — human skin · optionalsample collection method — plant associated · optionalsample collection method — Symbiont · optionalsample collection method — host associated · optionalsample collection method — Food and Production · optionalsample collection method — MIUVIGS · optionalsample collection method — MISAGS · optionalsample collection method — MIMAGS · optionalsample collection method — binned metagenome · optionalsample collection method — Tree of Life Checklist · optionalsample collection method — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistsample collection method — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistsample collection method — default sample checklist · not in this checklistsample collection method — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklistaltitudealtitude — in 23 of 29, required in 1altitude — built environment · optionalaltitude — agriculture · optionalaltitude — Hydrocarbon · optionalaltitude — water · optionalaltitude — sediment · optionalaltitude — microbial mat biolfilm · optionalaltitude — soil · optionalaltitude — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · optionalaltitude — wastewater sludge · optionalaltitude — air · requiredaltitude — Tara Oceans · not in this checklistaltitude — human associated · optionalaltitude — human vaginal · optionalaltitude — human gut · optionalaltitude — human oral · optionalaltitude — human skin · optionalaltitude — plant associated · optionalaltitude — Symbiont · optionalaltitude — host associated · optionalaltitude — Food and Production · optionalaltitude — MIUVIGS · optionalaltitude — MISAGS · optionalaltitude — MIMAGS · optionalaltitude — binned metagenome · optionalaltitude — Tree of Life Checklist · not in this checklistaltitude — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistaltitude — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistaltitude — default sample checklist · not in this checklistaltitude — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklistbarometric pressurebarometric pressure — in 1 of 29, required in 0barometric pressure — built environment · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — agriculture · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — Hydrocarbon · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — water · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — sediment · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — microbial mat biolfilm · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — soil · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — wastewater sludge · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — air · optionalbarometric pressure — Tara Oceans · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — human associated · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — human vaginal · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — human gut · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — human oral · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — human skin · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — plant associated · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — Symbiont · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — host associated · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — Food and Production · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — MIUVIGS · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — MISAGS · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — MIMAGS · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — binned metagenome · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — Tree of Life Checklist · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — default sample checklist · not in this checklistbarometric pressure — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklisturinecollection methodurinecollection method — in 1 of 29, required in 0urinecollection method — built environment · not in this checklisturinecollection method — agriculture · not in this checklisturinecollection method — Hydrocarbon · not in this checklisturinecollection method — water · not in this checklisturinecollection method — sediment · not in this checklisturinecollection method — microbial mat biolfilm · not in this checklisturinecollection method — soil · not in this checklisturinecollection method — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · not in this checklisturinecollection method — wastewater sludge · not in this checklisturinecollection method — air · not in this checklisturinecollection method — Tara Oceans · not in this checklisturinecollection method — human associated · optionalurinecollection method — human vaginal · not in this checklisturinecollection method — human gut · not in this checklisturinecollection method — human oral · not in this checklisturinecollection method — human skin · not in this checklisturinecollection method — plant associated · not in this checklisturinecollection method — Symbiont · not in this checklisturinecollection method — host associated · not in this checklisturinecollection method — Food and Production · not in this checklisturinecollection method — MIUVIGS · not in this checklisturinecollection method — MISAGS · not in this checklisturinecollection method — MIMAGS · not in this checklisturinecollection method — binned metagenome · not in this checklisturinecollection method — Tree of Life Checklist · not in this checklisturinecollection method — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · not in this checklisturinecollection method — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checklisturinecollection method — default sample checklist · not in this checklisturinecollection method — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklistbiological statusbiological status — in 1 of 29, required in 0biological status — built environment · not in this checklistbiological status — agriculture · not in this checklistbiological status — Hydrocarbon · not in this checklistbiological status — water · not in this checklistbiological status — sediment · not in this checklistbiological status — microbial mat biolfilm · not in this checklistbiological status — soil · not in this checklistbiological status — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · not in this checklistbiological status — wastewater sludge · not in this checklistbiological status — air · not in this checklistbiological status — Tara Oceans · not in this checklistbiological status — human associated · not in this checklistbiological status — human vaginal · not in this checklistbiological status — human gut · not in this checklistbiological status — human oral · not in this checklistbiological status — human skin · not in this checklistbiological status — plant associated · not in this checklistbiological status — Symbiont · not in this checklistbiological status — host associated · optionalbiological status — Food and Production · not in this checklistbiological status — MIUVIGS · not in this checklistbiological status — MISAGS · not in this checklistbiological status — MIMAGS · not in this checklistbiological status — binned metagenome · not in this checklistbiological status — Tree of Life Checklist · not in this checklistbiological status — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistbiological status — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistbiological status — default sample checklist · not in this checklistbiological status — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklistculture resultculture result — in 1 of 29, required in 0culture result — built environment · not in this checklistculture result — agriculture · not in this checklistculture result — Hydrocarbon · not in this checklistculture result — water · not in this checklistculture result — sediment · not in this checklistculture result — microbial mat biolfilm · not in this checklistculture result — soil · not in this checklistculture result — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · not in this checklistculture result — wastewater sludge · not in this checklistculture result — air · not in this checklistculture result — Tara Oceans · not in this checklistculture result — human associated · not in this checklistculture result — human vaginal · not in this checklistculture result — human gut · not in this checklistculture result — human oral · not in this checklistculture result — human skin · not in this checklistculture result — plant associated · not in this checklistculture result — Symbiont · not in this checklistculture result — host associated · not in this checklistculture result — Food and Production · optionalculture result — MIUVIGS · not in this checklistculture result — MISAGS · not in this checklistculture result — MIMAGS · not in this checklistculture result — binned metagenome · not in this checklistculture result — Tree of Life Checklist · not in this checklistculture result — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistculture result — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistculture result — default sample checklist · not in this checklistculture result — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklistinoculation routeinoculation route — in 1 of 29, required in 0inoculation route — built environment · not in this checklistinoculation route — agriculture · not in this checklistinoculation route — Hydrocarbon · not in this checklistinoculation route — water · not in this checklistinoculation route — sediment · not in this checklistinoculation route — microbial mat biolfilm · not in this checklistinoculation route — soil · not in this checklistinoculation route — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · not in this checklistinoculation route — wastewater sludge · not in this checklistinoculation route — air · not in this checklistinoculation route — Tara Oceans · not in this checklistinoculation route — human associated · not in this checklistinoculation route — human vaginal · not in this checklistinoculation route — human gut · not in this checklistinoculation route — human oral · not in this checklistinoculation route — human skin · not in this checklistinoculation route — plant associated · not in this checklistinoculation route — Symbiont · not in this checklistinoculation route — host associated · not in this checklistinoculation route — Food and Production · not in this checklistinoculation route — MIUVIGS · not in this checklistinoculation route — MISAGS · not in this checklistinoculation route — MIMAGS · not in this checklistinoculation route — binned metagenome · not in this checklistinoculation route — Tree of Life Checklist · not in this checklistinoculation route — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · optionalinoculation route — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistinoculation route — default sample checklist · not in this checklistinoculation route — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklistpollutantspollutants — in 1 of 29, required in 0pollutants — built environment · not in this checklistpollutants — agriculture · not in this checklistpollutants — Hydrocarbon · not in this checklistpollutants — water · not in this checklistpollutants — sediment · not in this checklistpollutants — microbial mat biolfilm · not in this checklistpollutants — soil · not in this checklistpollutants — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · not in this checklistpollutants — wastewater sludge · not in this checklistpollutants — air · optionalpollutants — Tara Oceans · not in this checklistpollutants — human associated · not in this checklistpollutants — human vaginal · not in this checklistpollutants — human gut · not in this checklistpollutants — human oral · not in this checklistpollutants — human skin · not in this checklistpollutants — plant associated · not in this checklistpollutants — Symbiont · not in this checklistpollutants — host associated · not in this checklistpollutants — Food and Production · not in this checklistpollutants — MIUVIGS · not in this checklistpollutants — MISAGS · not in this checklistpollutants — MIMAGS · not in this checklistpollutants — binned metagenome · not in this checklistpollutants — Tree of Life Checklist · not in this checklistpollutants — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistpollutants — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistpollutants — default sample checklist · not in this checklistpollutants — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checkliststudy completion statusstudy completion status — in 1 of 29, required in 0study completion status — built environment · not in this checkliststudy completion status — agriculture · not in this checkliststudy completion status — Hydrocarbon · not in this checkliststudy completion status — water · not in this checkliststudy completion status — sediment · not in this checkliststudy completion status — microbial mat biolfilm · not in this checkliststudy completion status — soil · not in this checkliststudy completion status — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · not in this checkliststudy completion status — wastewater sludge · not in this checkliststudy completion status — air · not in this checkliststudy completion status — Tara Oceans · not in this checkliststudy completion status — human associated · optionalstudy completion status — human vaginal · not in this checkliststudy completion status — human gut · not in this checkliststudy completion status — human oral · not in this checkliststudy completion status — human skin · not in this checkliststudy completion status — plant associated · not in this checkliststudy completion status — Symbiont · not in this checkliststudy completion status — host associated · not in this checkliststudy completion status — Food and Production · not in this checkliststudy completion status — MIUVIGS · not in this checkliststudy completion status — MISAGS · not in this checkliststudy completion status — MIMAGS · not in this checkliststudy completion status — binned metagenome · not in this checkliststudy completion status — Tree of Life Checklist · not in this checkliststudy completion status — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · not in this checkliststudy completion status — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checkliststudy completion status — default sample checklist · not in this checkliststudy completion status — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklisthost blood pressure dia…host blood pressure diastolic — in 1 of 29, required in 0host blood pressure diastolic — built environment · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — agriculture · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — Hydrocarbon · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — water · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — sediment · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — microbial mat biolfilm · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — soil · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — wastewater sludge · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — air · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — Tara Oceans · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — human associated · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — human vaginal · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — human gut · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — human oral · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — human skin · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — plant associated · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — Symbiont · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — host associated · optionalhost blood pressure diastolic — Food and Production · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — MIUVIGS · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — MISAGS · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — MIMAGS · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — binned metagenome · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — Tree of Life Checklist · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — default sample checklist · not in this checklisthost blood pressure diastolic — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklistculture result organismculture result organism — in 1 of 29, required in 0culture result organism — built environment · not in this checklistculture result organism — agriculture · not in this checklistculture result organism — Hydrocarbon · not in this checklistculture result organism — water · not in this checklistculture result organism — sediment · not in this checklistculture result organism — microbial mat biolfilm · not in this checklistculture result organism — soil · not in this checklistculture result organism — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · not in this checklistculture result organism — wastewater sludge · not in this checklistculture result organism — air · not in this checklistculture result organism — Tara Oceans · not in this checklistculture result organism — human associated · not in this checklistculture result organism — human vaginal · not in this checklistculture result organism — human gut · not in this checklistculture result organism — human oral · not in this checklistculture result organism — human skin · not in this checklistculture result organism — plant associated · not in this checklistculture result organism — Symbiont · not in this checklistculture result organism — host associated · not in this checklistculture result organism — Food and Production · optionalculture result organism — MIUVIGS · not in this checklistculture result organism — MISAGS · not in this checklistculture result organism — MIMAGS · not in this checklistculture result organism — binned metagenome · not in this checklistculture result organism — Tree of Life Checklist · not in this checklistculture result organism — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistculture result organism — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistculture result organism — default sample checklist · not in this checklistculture result organism — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklistinoculation doseinoculation dose — in 1 of 29, required in 0inoculation dose — built environment · not in this checklistinoculation dose — agriculture · not in this checklistinoculation dose — Hydrocarbon · not in this checklistinoculation dose — water · not in this checklistinoculation dose — sediment · not in this checklistinoculation dose — microbial mat biolfilm · not in this checklistinoculation dose — soil · not in this checklistinoculation dose — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · not in this checklistinoculation dose — wastewater sludge · not in this checklistinoculation dose — air · not in this checklistinoculation dose — Tara Oceans · not in this checklistinoculation dose — human associated · not in this checklistinoculation dose — human vaginal · not in this checklistinoculation dose — human gut · not in this checklistinoculation dose — human oral · not in this checklistinoculation dose — human skin · not in this checklistinoculation dose — plant associated · not in this checklistinoculation dose — Symbiont · not in this checklistinoculation dose — host associated · not in this checklistinoculation dose — Food and Production · not in this checklistinoculation dose — MIUVIGS · not in this checklistinoculation dose — MISAGS · not in this checklistinoculation dose — MIMAGS · not in this checklistinoculation dose — binned metagenome · not in this checklistinoculation dose — Tree of Life Checklist · not in this checklistinoculation dose — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · optionalinoculation dose — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistinoculation dose — default sample checklist · not in this checklistinoculation dose — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklistcarbon monoxidecarbon monoxide — in 1 of 29, required in 0carbon monoxide — built environment · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — agriculture · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — Hydrocarbon · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — water · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — sediment · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — microbial mat biolfilm · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — soil · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — wastewater sludge · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — air · optionalcarbon monoxide — Tara Oceans · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — human associated · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — human vaginal · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — human gut · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — human oral · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — human skin · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — plant associated · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — Symbiont · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — host associated · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — Food and Production · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — MIUVIGS · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — MISAGS · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — MIMAGS · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — binned metagenome · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — Tree of Life Checklist · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — default sample checklist · not in this checklistcarbon monoxide — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklisthost hiv statushost hiv status — in 1 of 29, required in 0host hiv status — built environment · not in this checklisthost hiv status — agriculture · not in this checklisthost hiv status — Hydrocarbon · not in this checklisthost hiv status — water · not in this checklisthost hiv status — sediment · not in this checklisthost hiv status — microbial mat biolfilm · not in this checklisthost hiv status — soil · not in this checklisthost hiv status — miscellaneous natural or artificial environment · not in this checklisthost hiv status — wastewater sludge · not in this checklisthost hiv status — air · not in this checklisthost hiv status — Tara Oceans · not in this checklisthost hiv status — human associated · optionalhost hiv status — human vaginal · not in this checklisthost hiv status — human gut · not in this checklisthost hiv status — human oral · not in this checklisthost hiv status — human skin · not in this checklisthost hiv status — plant associated · not in this checklisthost hiv status — Symbiont · not in this checklisthost hiv status — host associated · not in this checklisthost hiv status — Food and Production · not in this checklisthost hiv status — MIUVIGS · not in this checklisthost hiv status — MISAGS · not in this checklisthost hiv status — MIMAGS · not in this checklisthost hiv status — binned metagenome · not in this checklisthost hiv status — Tree of Life Checklist · not in this checklisthost hiv status — Influenza virus reporting standard checklist · not in this checklisthost hiv status — virus pathogen reporting standard checklist · not in this checklisthost hiv status — default sample checklist · not in this checklisthost hiv status — prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist · not in this checklist
The only unbroken row — present in all 29.
In 26 — but the band breaks. Not every checklist asks where.
One cell, one checklist. This is the 60%.
All 880 fields, by how many checklists use thembar height √-scaled527 fields in exactly 1 checklist147 fields in exactly 2 checklists56 fields in exactly 3 checklists31 fields in exactly 4 checklists28 fields in exactly 5 checklists13 fields in exactly 6 checklists4 fields in exactly 7 checklists3 fields in exactly 8 checklists2 fields in exactly 9 checklists4 fields in exactly 10 checklists0 fields in exactly 11 checklists1 field in exactly 12 checklists0 fields in exactly 13 checklists0 fields in exactly 14 checklists1 field in exactly 15 checklists4 fields in exactly 16 checklists2 fields in exactly 17 checklists2 fields in exactly 18 checklists21 fields in exactly 19 checklists2 fields in exactly 20 checklists0 fields in exactly 21 checklists5 fields in exactly 22 checklists16 fields in exactly 23 checklists5 fields in exactly 24 checklists1 field in exactly 25 checklists3 fields in exactly 26 checklists1 field in exactly 27 checklists0 fields in exactly 28 checklists1 field in exactly 29 checklistsin 1 →→ in all 29

The 24 rows above are a domain-balanced core sample; 856 more fields sit in the long tail. Only 75 of 880 fields are ever required in any checklist — the other 805 are never mandatory anywhere.

Hover the grid to read a cell; click a field name or a cell to pin it; click a checklist header to see what it requires.

That shape is why SeqDesk maps each order to a specific checklist instead of one generic form, and why we read metadata completeness against the checklist a sample was actually submitted under.

How completely is a sample actually described?

MIxS stands for Minimum Information about any Sequence — but the enforced minimum is tiny. Of all 2,798 field-slots, only 271 (9.7%) are required; the rest are optional. A checklist can offer 273 fields and still mandate as few as 2. Drag the sort below to see who asks for the most — and who actually requires it.

2,798field-slots offered→0required (9.7%)
Required (gold) versus optional fields in each of the 29 MIxS checklists0100200273← fields offered →airair: 9 required of 779host associatedhost associated: 8 required of 998human associatedhuman associated: 8 required of 1038human guthuman gut: 8 required of 868human oralhuman oral: 8 required of 868human skinhuman skin: 8 required of 868human vaginalhuman vaginal: 8 required of 948microbial mat biolfilmmicrobial mat biolfilm: 10 required of 11310plant associatedplant associated: 8 required of 1258sedimentsediment: 10 required of 11910soilsoil: 10 required of 10910wastewater sludgewastewater sludge: 8 required of 918waterwater: 9 required of 1349miscellaneous natural o…miscellaneous natural or artificial environment: 8 required of 948built environmentbuilt environment: 21 required of 21421agricultureagriculture: 2 required of 1772Food and ProductionFood and Production: 2 required of 2732SymbiontSymbiont: 2 required of 1132HydrocarbonHydrocarbon: 2 required of 1482MISAGSMISAGS: 14 required of 5814MIUVIGSMIUVIGS: 19 required of 7019prokaryotic pathogen mi…prokaryotic pathogen minimal sample checklist: 6 required of 206Influenza virus reporti…Influenza virus reporting standard checklist: 13 required of 5913virus pathogen reportin…virus pathogen reporting standard checklist: 10 required of 3610Tara OceansTara Oceans: 16 required of 3316Tree of Life ChecklistTree of Life Checklist: 10 required of 4210default sample checklistdefault sample checklist: 2 required of 302binned metagenomebinned metagenome: 14 required of 5214MIMAGSMIMAGS: 18 required of 5718

Sorted by size. The big environmental checklists offer the most fields — yet require almost none.

The real backbone is ~8 fields

75 fields are required somewhere, but only these are enforced across many checklists. The pip shows how often each is required where it appears.

collection date29/29
geo country / sea26/26
project name21/25
environmental medium20/24
local environmental context20/24
geo latitude19/26
geo longitude19/26
broadscale environmental context18/22

And what they ask for is mostly unstructured: 91% of slots are free text, not controlled vocabularies. Even required slots are only 20% controlled (optional ones 8%) — so a filled-in value often still isn’t standardised.

Data & method. Computed at build time from the 29 MIxS sample checklists SeqDesk mirrors from the ENA checklist registry (snapshot 2026-06-03). A field is a distinct field name; the “shared core” is the 6 fields used by ≥25 checklists. Iceberg areas are illustrative; the heatmap shows a domain-balanced core sample of 24 fields, and the sediment strip summarises all 880. Every printed number is exact.