Comparison of Oral Microbiota Collected Using Multiple Methods and Recommendations for New Epidemiologic Studies
Yano et al.
The finding, in our words
The study found that the OMNIgene ORAL kit produced different microbiome profiles compared to some alternative oral collection methods, particularly Saccomanno's fixative. This matters for decentralised sampling as it shows the choice of a standardised, stabilised collection method is critical for reliable results in remote studies of the oral microbiome.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
Saliva samples collected using the OMNIgene ORAL device and oral wash samples remain stable for microbiome diversity and relative abundance analyses for up to five years when stored at -80°C. This supports the use of these self-collection methods for long-term prospective biobanking and decentralised clinical studies.
Across 18 saliva samples, mouthwash collection gave higher alpha diversity than passive drooling on both Illumina and Nanopore platforms, and three preservation methods performed alike; mouthwash and simple collection are convenient decentralised options, provided a study keeps one collection method for all participants to avoid confounding.
Fecal and oral microbiome samples showed high stability over two years at -80°C, with intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.70–0.99 for stool and above 0.74 for saliva across most collection methods. Stool collected without additive and saliva collected with Scope mouthwash showed lower stability for some measures, demonstrating that collection method choice affects reliability of stored samples for microbiome analysis in decentralised diagnostics.
A study found that fecal samples on FOBT cards and RNAlater, and oral samples in Scope mouthwash, remained stable for four days at room temperature, with fecal comparability ICCs ranging from 0.63 to 0.93. These methods support decentralised sampling, though consistent method choice is required as each may introduce modest differences.
Oral rinse samples collected in Scope mouthwash remained stable at ambient temperature for four days, with high intraclass correlation for microbial diversity (Shannon index ICC 0.86), supporting their use in decentralised microbiome studies. However, comparability with OMNIgene ORAL samples was low, suggesting collection methods should not be mixed within a study.