Correcting for Microbial Blooms in Fecal Samples during Room-Temperature Shipping

Abstract

In many microbiome studies, the necessity to store samples at room temperature (i.e., remote fieldwork) and the ability to ship samples without hazardous materials that require special handling training, such as ethanol (i.e., citizen science efforts), is paramount. However, although room-temperature storage for a few days has been shown not to obscure physiologically relevant microbiome differences between comparison groups, there are still changes in specific bacterial taxa, notably, in members of the class Gammaproteobacteria , that can make microbiome profiles difficult to interpret. Here we identify the most problematic taxa and show that removing sequences from just a few fast-growing taxa is sufficient to correct microbiome profiles.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Apr 21, 2017
Source ID
10.1128/msystems.00199-16

Entities

People

  • Adam Robbins-pianka
  • Amnon Amir
  • Daniel McDonald
  • Embriette Hyde
  • James T. Morton
  • Jose A. Navas-molina
  • Justine Debelius
  • Rob Knight

Organizations

  • Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
  • Broad Institute
  • Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs
  • Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America
  • Division of Graduate Education
  • Kenneth Rainin Foundation
  • Laureate Institute for Brain Research
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Multiple Sclerosis Society
  • National Science Foundation
  • Office of Naval Research
  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
  • United States Department of Justice
  • University of California, San Diego
  • University of California, San Francisco
  • University of Colorado Boulder
  • Washington University in St. Louis

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Aquatic Ecology
  • Educational Psychology
  • Gulf War Illness and Chronic Multisymptom Illness in Veterans.

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology