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. 2017 Sep:7:158-162.
doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2017.07.002. Epub 2017 Jul 6.

Successful collection of stool samples for microbiome analyses from a large community-based population of elderly men

Melanie Abrahamson  1 , Elizabeth Hooker  1 , Nadim J Ajami  2 , Joseph F Petrosino  2 , Eric S Orwoll  1
Affiliations

Successful collection of stool samples for microbiome analyses from a large community-based population of elderly men

Melanie Abrahamson et al. Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2017 Sep.

Abstract

The relationship of the gastrointestinal microbiome to health and disease is of major research interest, including the effects of the gut microbiota on age related conditions. Here we report on the outcome of a project to collect stool samples on a large number of community dwelling elderly men using the OMNIgene-GUT stool/feces collection kit (OMR-200, DNA Genotek, Ottawa, Canada). Among 1,328 men who were eligible for stool collection, 982 (74%) agreed to participate and 951 submitted samples. The collection process was reported to be acceptable, almost all samples obtained were adequate, the process of sample handling by mail was uniformly successful. The DNA obtained provided excellent results in microbiome analyses, yielding an abundance of species and a diversity of taxa as would be predicted. Our results suggest that population studies of older participants involving remote stool sample collection are feasible. These approaches would allow large scale research projects of the association of the gut microbiota with important clinical outcomes.

Keywords: aging; gastrointestinal; genotyping; men; microbiome; stool.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure statement All authors state that they have no actual or potential conflict of interest including any financial, personal or other relationship with other people or organizations within three years of beginning the work submitted that could have inappropriately influenced their work.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of merged reads mapping to the SILVA (v123) database at 97% identity. 600 samples sorted by total merged reads (mapped + unmapped).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Average amount of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) identified at the rarefaction depth chosen (vertical line) for this dataset.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Distribution of the relative abundance of top 30 genera identified order by abundance of Bacteroides.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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