Impact of technical sources of variation on the hand microbiome dynamics of healthcare workers.

ABSTRACT: We assessed the dynamics of hand microbial community structure of 34 healthcare workers from a single surgical intensive care unit over a short (3 week) time period, whilst taking into account the technical sources of variability introduced by specimen collection, DNA extraction, and sequencing. Sample collection took place at 3 different time points. Only the sampling collection method appeared to have a significant impact on the observed hand microbial community structure among the healthcare workers. Analysis of samples collected using glove-juice showed a slightly more similar microbial composition within individual hand samples over time than between the hands of different individuals over time. This was not true for samples collected using a swab, where samples from a single individu

SUBMITTER: Rosenthal M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3925205 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature