Complementing 16S rRNA Gene Amplicon Sequencing with Total Bacterial Load To Infer Absolute Species Concentrations in the Vaginal Microbiome.

ABSTRACT: Whereas 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing quantifies relative abundances of bacterial taxa, variation in total bacterial load between samples restricts its ability to reflect absolute concentrations of individual bacterial species. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) can quantify individual species, but it is not practical to develop a suite of qPCR assays for every bacterium present in a diverse sample. We sought to determine the accuracy of an inferred measure of bacterial concentration using total bacterial load and relative abundance. We analyzed 1,320 samples from 20 women with a history of frequent bacterial vaginosis who self-collected vaginal swabs daily over 60 days. We inferred bacterial concentrations by taking the product of species relative abundance (assessed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon se

SUBMITTER: Tettamanti Boshier FA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7141891 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature