Not all is lost: resilience of microbiome samples to freezer failures and long-term storage.

ABSTRACT: Advances in technology have facilitated extensive sample collection to explore microbiomes across diverse systems, leading to a growing reliance on ultracold freezers for storing both samples and extracted DNA. However, freezer malfunctions can jeopardize data integrity. To evaluate the impact of an unexpected -80°C freezer failure and the recoverability of thawed soil samples, we extracted DNA and compared it to long-term DNA stored at -20°C and original 16S and ITS2 sequencing data collected before the malfunction. Using Illumina MiSeq, we assessed how the freezer failure and long-term storage influenced the resilience of bacterial or fungal richness or community composition and our ability to accurately determine experimental treatment effects. Our results reveal substantial resilience

SUBMITTER: Pulido Barriga MF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11774026 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature