| Title | Performance comparison of fecal preservative and stock solutions for gut microbiome storage at room temperature |
|---|---|
| Author | Chanhyeok Park1†, Kyeong Eui Yun1†, Jeong Min Chu1, Ji Yeon Lee1, Chang Pyo Hong1, Young Do Nam2, Jinuk Jeong3, Kyudong Han3*, and Yong Ju Ahn1* |
| Address | 1Theragen Bio Co., Ltd., Suwon, Gyeonggi-do 16229, Republic of Korea, 2Research Group of Healthcare, Korea Food Research Institute, Jeollabuk-do 55365, Republic of Korea, 3Department of Nanobiomedical Science & BK21 PLUS NBM Global Research Center for Regenerative Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan 31116, Republic of Korea |
| Bibliography | Journal of Microbiology, 58(8),703–710, 2020, |
| DOI | 10.1007/s12275-020-0092-6 |
| Key Words | gut microbiome, stock solution, fecal collection tube, metagenome, room temperature |
| Abstract | The gut microbiome, which is symbiotic within the human body, assists in human digestion. It plays significant roles in identifying intestinal disease as well as in maintaining a healthy body with functional immune and metabolic activities. To confirm the consistency of fecal intestinal microbial research, it is necessary to study the changes in intestinal microbial flora according to the fecal collection solution and storage period. We collected fecal samples from three healthy Korean adults. To examine the efficacy of fecal collection solution, we used NBgene-Gut, OMNIgene-Gut, 70% ethanol (Ethanol-70%), and RNAlater. The samples were stored for up to two months at room temperature using three different methods, and we observed changes in microbial communities over time. We analyzed clusters of changes in the microbial flora by observing fecal stock solutions and metagenome sequencing performed over time. In particular, we confirmed the profiling of alpha and beta diversity and microbial classification according to the differences in intestinal environment among individuals. We also confirmed that the microbial profile remained stable for two months and that the microbial profile did not change significantly over time. In addition, our results suggest the possibility of verifying microbial profiling even for long-term storage of a single sample. In conclusion, collecting fecal samples using a stock solution rather than freezing feces seems to be relatively reproducible and stable for GUT metagenome analysis. Therefore, stock solution tubes in intestinal microbial research can be used without problems. |