Rectal swabs are a reliable proxy for faecal samples in infant gut microbiota research based on 16S-rRNA sequencing.

ABSTRACT: Rectal swabs are potentially a valuable method for monitoring the gut microbiome in research and clinical settings, where it is important to adhere to strict timing, or where acute sampling is needed. It is currently unknown whether rectal swabs give comparable results to faecal samples regarding microbiota community composition in neonates and infants. To study how well the two sampling methods correlate in infants, we compared the 16S-rRNA-based sequencing results of 131 paired rectal swabs and faecal samples collected from 116 infants at two timepoints in early life. The paired samples were highly comparable regarding both diversity and overall community composition, and strongly correlated on taxonomical level. We observed no significant nor relevant contribution of sampling method to

SUBMITTER: Reyman M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6831562 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature