Biological and technical variability in mouse microbiota analysis and implications for sample size determination.

ABSTRACT: The gut microbiota (GM) affects host development, behavior and disease susceptibility. Biomedical research investigating GM-mediated influences on host phenotypes often involves collecting fecal samples from laboratory mice. Many environmental factors can affect the composition of the GM in mice. While efforts are made to minimize this variation, biological and technical variability exists and may influence outcomes. Here we employed a hierarchical fecal sampling strategy (that is, sequenced multiple libraries generated from multiple pellets collected from multiple mice) to quantify the effect size of biological and technical variation and to provide practical guidance for the development of microbiome studies involving laboratory mice. We found that while biological and technical sources

SUBMITTER: McAdams Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12738283 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature