Effects of variation in sample storage conditions and swab order on 16S vaginal microbiome analyses.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

The composition of the human vaginal microbiome has been linked to a variety of medical conditions including yeast infection, bacterial vaginosis, and sexually transmitted infection. The vaginal microbiome is becoming increasingly acknowledged as a key factor in personal health, and it is essential to establish methods to collect and process accurate samples with self-collection techniques to allow large, population-based studies. In this study, we investigate if using AssayAssure Genelock, a nucleic acid preservative, introduces microbial biases in self-collected vaginal samples. To our knowledge, we also contribute some of the first evidence regarding the impacts of multiple swabs taken at one time point. Vaginal samples have relatively low biomass, so the ability to c

SUBMITTER: Kumar T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10783137 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature