TY  - JOUR
A1  - Hickl, Oskar
A1  - Heintz-Buschart, Anna
A1  - Trautwein-Schult, Anke
A1  - Hercog, Rajna
A1  - Bork, Peer
A1  - Wilmes, Paul
A1  - Becher, Dörte
T1  - Sample preservation and storage significantly impact taxonomic and functional profiles in metaproteomics studies of the human gut microbiome
T2  - Microorganisms
N2  - With the technological advances of the last decade, it is now feasible to analyze microbiome samples, such as human stool specimens, using multi-omic techniques. Given the inherent sample complexity, there exists a need for sample methods which preserve as much information as possible about the biological system at the time of sampling. Here, we analyzed human stool samples preserved and stored using different methods, applying metagenomics as well as metaproteomics. Our results demonstrate that sample preservation and storage have a significant effect on the taxonomic composition of identified proteins. The overall identification rates, as well as the proportion of proteins from Actinobacteria were much higher when samples were flash frozen. Preservation in RNAlater overall led to fewer protein identifications and a considerable increase in the share of Bacteroidetes, as well as Proteobacteria. Additionally, a decrease in the share of metabolism-related proteins and an increase of the relative amount of proteins involved in the processing of genetic information was observed for RNAlater-stored samples. This suggests that great care should be taken in choosing methods for the preservation and storage of microbiome samples, as well as in comparing the results of analyses using different sampling and storage methods. Flash freezing and subsequent storage at −80 °C should be chosen wherever possible.
KW  - proteomics
KW  - metaproteomics
KW  - metagenomics
KW  - microbiome
KW  - microbiota
KW  - flash freezing
KW  - RNAlater
KW  - sample storage
Y1  - 2019
UR  - https://opus.bibliothek.uni-wuerzburg.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/19597
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-195976
SN  - 2076-2607
VL  - 7
IS  - 9
ER  -