Sample Size Estimations Based on Human Microbiome Temporal Stability Over 6 Months: A Shallow Shotgun Metagenome Sequencing Analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Biological factors affect the human microbiome, highlighting the need for reasonably estimating sample sizes in future population studies.

Methods

We assessed the temporal stability of fecal microbiome diversity, species composition, and genes and functional pathways through shallow shotgun metagenome sequencing. Using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), we measured biological variability over 6 months. We estimated case numbers for 1:1 or 1:3 matched case-control studies, considering significance levels of 0.05 and 0.001 with 80% power, based on the collected fecal specimens per participant.

Results

The fecal microbiome's temporal stability over 6 months varied (ICC < 0.6) for most alpha and beta diversity metrics. Heterogeneity was seen in species,

SUBMITTER: Zouiouich S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12415979 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature