Skip to main content

Common methods for fecal sample storage in field studies yield consistent signatures of individual identity in microbiome sequencing data.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Blekhman, R; Tang, K; Archie, EA; Barreiro, LB; Johnson, ZP; Wilson, ME; Kohn, J; Yuan, ML; Gesquiere, L; Grieneisen, LE; Tung, J
Published in: Scientific reports
August 2016

Field studies of wild vertebrates are frequently associated with extensive collections of banked fecal samples-unique resources for understanding ecological, behavioral, and phylogenetic effects on the gut microbiome. However, we do not understand whether sample storage methods confound the ability to investigate interindividual variation in gut microbiome profiles. Here, we extend previous work on storage methods for gut microbiome samples by comparing immediate freezing, the gold standard of preservation, to three methods commonly used in vertebrate field studies: lyophilization, storage in ethanol, and storage in RNAlater. We found that the signature of individual identity consistently outweighed storage effects: alpha diversity and beta diversity measures were significantly correlated across methods, and while samples often clustered by donor, they never clustered by storage method. Provided that all analyzed samples are stored the same way, banked fecal samples therefore appear highly suitable for investigating variation in gut microbiota. Our results open the door to a much-expanded perspective on variation in the gut microbiome across species and ecological contexts.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Scientific reports

DOI

EISSN

2045-2322

ISSN

2045-2322

Publication Date

August 2016

Volume

6

Start / End Page

31519

Related Subject Headings

  • Specimen Handling
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome
  • Freeze Drying
  • Feces
  • Biodiversity
  • Animals, Wild
  • Animals
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Blekhman, R., Tang, K., Archie, E. A., Barreiro, L. B., Johnson, Z. P., Wilson, M. E., … Tung, J. (2016). Common methods for fecal sample storage in field studies yield consistent signatures of individual identity in microbiome sequencing data. Scientific Reports, 6, 31519. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep31519
Blekhman, Ran, Karen Tang, Elizabeth A. Archie, Luis B. Barreiro, Zachary P. Johnson, Mark E. Wilson, Jordan Kohn, et al. “Common methods for fecal sample storage in field studies yield consistent signatures of individual identity in microbiome sequencing data.Scientific Reports 6 (August 2016): 31519. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep31519.
Blekhman R, Tang K, Archie EA, Barreiro LB, Johnson ZP, Wilson ME, et al. Common methods for fecal sample storage in field studies yield consistent signatures of individual identity in microbiome sequencing data. Scientific reports. 2016 Aug;6:31519.
Blekhman, Ran, et al. “Common methods for fecal sample storage in field studies yield consistent signatures of individual identity in microbiome sequencing data.Scientific Reports, vol. 6, Aug. 2016, p. 31519. Epmc, doi:10.1038/srep31519.
Blekhman R, Tang K, Archie EA, Barreiro LB, Johnson ZP, Wilson ME, Kohn J, Yuan ML, Gesquiere L, Grieneisen LE, Tung J. Common methods for fecal sample storage in field studies yield consistent signatures of individual identity in microbiome sequencing data. Scientific reports. 2016 Aug;6:31519.

Published In

Scientific reports

DOI

EISSN

2045-2322

ISSN

2045-2322

Publication Date

August 2016

Volume

6

Start / End Page

31519

Related Subject Headings

  • Specimen Handling
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome
  • Freeze Drying
  • Feces
  • Biodiversity
  • Animals, Wild
  • Animals