Analyze Diet
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2023; 13(19); 3107; doi: 10.3390/ani13193107

Homemade Nucleic Acid Preservation Buffer Proves Effective in Preserving the Equine Faecal Microbiota over Time at Ambient Temperatures.

Abstract: The equine faecal microbiota is often assessed as a proxy of the microbial community in the distal colon, where the microbiome has been linked to states of health and disease in the horse. However, the microbial community structure may change over time if samples are not adequately preserved. This study stored equine faecal samples from = 10 horses in four preservation treatments at room temperature for up to 150 h and assessed the resulting impact on microbial diversity and the differential abundance of taxa. Treatments included "COLD" (samples packaged with a cool pack), "CLX" (2% chlorhexidine digluconate solution), "NAP" (nucleic acid preservation buffer), and "FTA" (Whatman FTA™ cards). The samples were assessed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing after storage for 0, 24, 72, and 150 h at room temperature under the different treatments. The results showed effective preservation of diversity and community structure with NAP buffer but lower diversity ( = 0.001) and the under-representation of Fibrobacterota in the FTA card samples. The NAP treatment inhibited the overgrowth of bloom taxa that occurred by 72 h at room temperature. The COLD, CLX, and NAP treatments were effective in preserving the faecal microbiota for up to 24 h at room temperature, and the CLX and NAP treatments improved the yield of Patescibacteria and Fibrobacterota in some cases. The cold and CLX treatments were ineffective in preventing community shifts that occurred by 72 h at room temperature. These findings demonstrate the suitability of the COLD, NAP, and CLX treatments for the room temperature storage of equine faeces for up to 24 h and of NAP buffer for up to 150 h prior to processing.
Publication Date: 2023-10-05 PubMed ID: 37835713PubMed Central: PMC10572018DOI: 10.3390/ani13193107Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The study investigated four preservation methods for horse fecal samples at room temperature and found that homemade nucleic acid preservation buffer was able to effectively preserve microbial diversity and structure over an extended time period.

Research Goals

In medical and veterinary sciences, fecal samples are often used to analyze the microbial community within an organism, which can help assess its health or diagnose diseases. However, these samples can degrade if not properly preserved, affecting the accuracy of results. This study aimed to analyze and compare the effectiveness of four preservation treatments for horse fecal samples:

  • “COLD” – storage with a cool pack
  • “CLX” – treatment with 2% chlorhexidine digluconate solution
  • “NAP” – treatment with nucleic acid preservation buffer
  • “FTA” – storage on Whatman FTA™ cards

Methodology

Horse fecal samples were taken from ten horses and subjected to the four preservation treatments. These were stored at room temperature for varying periods up to 150 hours. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the research team analyzed the effect of the treatments over time on both microbial diversity and the differential abundance of taxa.

Results and Conclusion

The study found that, of the four treatments, NAP (nucleic acid preservation buffer) was the most effective at preserving diversity and community structure over a lengthy period. Specifically, it prevented the overgrowth of bloom taxa that happened by 72 hours at room temperature. While the treatments using a cool pack (COLD) and chlorhexidine digluconate (CLX) were efficient in preserving the fecal samples up to 24 hours, they didn’t prevent community changes that appeared by 72 hours in the room temperature. The Whatman FTA™ card method (FTA) was associated with reduced diversity and a lowered presence of Fibrobacterota.
Thus, the research concluded that for the short-term preservation of equine fecal samples (up to 24 hours), the COLD, NAP, and CLX methods are suitable. However, for longer-term preservation (up to 150 hours), NAP buffer is the recommended method.

Cite This Article

APA
Ward AB, Harris PA, Argo CM, Watson C, Neacsu M, Russell WR, Ribeiro A, Collie-Duguid E, Heidari Z, Morrison PK. (2023). Homemade Nucleic Acid Preservation Buffer Proves Effective in Preserving the Equine Faecal Microbiota over Time at Ambient Temperatures. Animals (Basel), 13(19), 3107. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13193107

Publication

ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 13
Issue: 19
PII: 3107

Researcher Affiliations

Ward, Ashley B
  • School of Veterinary Medicine, Scotland's Rural College, Aberdeen AB21 9YA, UK.
  • The Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK.
  • School of Medicine Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK.
Harris, Patricia A
  • Equine Studies Group, Waltham Petcare Science Institute, Leicestershire LE14 4RT, UK.
Argo, Caroline McG
  • School of Veterinary Medicine, Scotland's Rural College, Aberdeen AB21 9YA, UK.
Watson, Christine
  • Department of Rural Land Use, Scotland's Rural College, Aberdeen AB21 9YA, UK.
Neacsu, Madalina
  • The Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK.
Russell, Wendy R
  • The Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK.
Ribeiro, Antonio
  • School of Medicine Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK.
  • Centre for Genome-Enabled Biology and Medicine, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, UK.
Collie-Duguid, Elaina
  • School of Medicine Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK.
  • Centre for Genome-Enabled Biology and Medicine, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, UK.
Heidari, Zeynab
  • School of Medicine Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK.
  • Centre for Genome-Enabled Biology and Medicine, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, UK.
Morrison, Philippa K
  • School of Veterinary Medicine, Scotland's Rural College, Aberdeen AB21 9YA, UK.

Grant Funding

  • Mars Petcare UK / Mars Petcare UK
  • Scottish Funding Council Research Excellence Grant (REG) / Scottish Funding Council Research Excellence Grant (REG)

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. With the exception of PH (employed by the funding organization), the funding organization did not have any additional role in the conceptualization, methodology, investigation, data curation, formal analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. PH was involved in study design, data interpretation, and manuscript preparation.

References

This article includes 51 references
  1. Biddle A., Nadeau J., Reed S., Ericsson A., Coleman R., Coleman S., Wickens C., Brooks S., Hammer C., Mastellar S.. National Information Management and Support System. NE2202: The Equine Microbiome 2022.
  2. Milinovich G.J., Trott D.J., Burrell P.C., Van Eps A.W., Thoefner M.B., Blackall L.L., Al Jassim R.A.M., Morton J.M., Pollitt C.C.. Changes in Equine Hindgut Bacterial Populations during Oligofructose-Induced Laminitis. Environ. Microbiol. 2006;8:885–898.
  3. Crawford C., Sepulveda M.F., Elliott J., Harris P.A., Bailey S.R.. Dietary Fructan Carbohydrate Increases Amine Production in the Equine Large Intestine: Implications for Pasture-Associated Laminitis1. J. Anim. Sci. 2007;85:2949–2958.
    doi: 10.2527/jas.2006-600pubmed: 17591708google scholar: lookup
  4. Tuniyazi M., He J., Guo J., Li S., Zhang N., Hu X., Fu Y.. Changes of Microbial and Metabolome of the Equine Hindgut during Oligofructose-Induced Laminitis. BMC Vet. Res. 2021;17:11.
    doi: 10.1186/s12917-020-02686-9pmc: PMC7789226pubmed: 33407409google scholar: lookup
  5. Ayoub C., Arroyo L.G., MacNicol J.L., Renaud D., Weese J.S., Gomez D.E.. Fecal Microbiota of Horses with Colitis and Its Association with Laminitis and Survival during Hospitalization. Vet. Intern. Med. 2022;36:2213–2223.
    doi: 10.1111/jvim.16562pmc: PMC9708523pubmed: 36271677google scholar: lookup
  6. Stewart H.L., Pitta D., Indugu N., Vecchiarelli B., Hennessy M.L., Engiles J.B., Southwood L.L.. Changes in the Faecal Bacterial Microbiota during Hospitalisation of Horses with Colic and the Effect of Different Causes of Colic. Equine Vet. J. 2021;53:1119–1131.
    doi: 10.1111/evj.13389pubmed: 33222287google scholar: lookup
  7. Morrison P.K., Newbold C.J., Jones E., Worgan H.J., Grove-White D.H., Dugdale A.H., Barfoot C., Harris P.A., Argo C.M.G.. The Equine Gastrointestinal Microbiome: Impacts of Age and Obesity. Front. Microbiol. 2018;9:3017.
    doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.03017pmc: PMC6293011pubmed: 30581426google scholar: lookup
  8. McKinney C.A., Oliveira B.C.M., Bedenice D., Paradis M.-R., Mazan M., Sage S., Sanchez A., Widmer G.. The Fecal Microbiota of Healthy Donor Horses and Geriatric Recipients Undergoing Fecal Microbial Transplantation for the Treatment of Diarrhea. PLoS ONE 2020;15:e0230148.
  9. Biddle A.S., Tomb J.F., Fan Z.. Microbiome and Blood Analyte Differences Point to Community and Metabolic Signatures in Lean and Obese Horses. Front. Vet. Sci. 2018;5:225.
    doi: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00225pmc: PMC6158370pubmed: 30294603google scholar: lookup
  10. Morrison P.K., Newbold C.J., Jones E., Worgan H.J., Grove-White D.H., Dugdale A.H., Barfoot C., Harris P.A., Argo C.M.. The Equine Gastrointestinal Microbiome: Impacts of Weight-Loss. BMC Vet. Res. 2020;16:78.
    doi: 10.1186/s12917-020-02295-6pmc: PMC7057583pubmed: 32131835google scholar: lookup
  11. Walshe N., Cabrera-Rubio R., Collins R., Puggioni A., Gath V., Crispie F., Cotter P.D., Brennan L., Mulcahy G., Duggan V.. A Multiomic Approach to Investigate the Effects of a Weight Loss Program on the Intestinal Health of Overweight Horses. Front. Vet. Sci. 2021;8:668120.
    doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.668120pmc: PMC8249564pubmed: 34222398google scholar: lookup
  12. Bulmer L.S., Murray J.A., Burns N.M., Garber A., Wemelsfelder F., McEwan N.R., Hastie P.M.. High-Starch Diets Alter Equine Faecal Microbiota and Increase Behavioural Reactivity. Sci. Rep. 2019;9:18621.
    doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-54039-8pmc: PMC6901590pubmed: 31819069google scholar: lookup
  13. Hou K., Wu Z.-X., Chen X.-Y., Wang J.-Q., Zhang D., Xiao C., Zhu D., Koya J.B., Wei L., Li J.. Microbiota in Health and Diseases. Signal Transduct. Target. Ther. 2022;7:135.
    doi: 10.1038/s41392-022-00974-4pmc: PMC9034083pubmed: 35461318google scholar: lookup
  14. Abellan-Schneyder I., Matchado M.S., Reitmeier S., Sommer A., Sewald Z., Baumbach J., List M., Neuhaus K.. Primer, Pipelines, Parameters: Issues in 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing. mSphere 2021;6:e01202-20.
    doi: 10.1128/mSphere.01202-20pmc: PMC8544895pubmed: 33627512google scholar: lookup
  15. Beckers K.F., Schulz C.J., Childers G.W.. Rapid Regrowth and Detection of Microbial Contaminants in Equine Fecal Microbiome Samples. PLoS ONE 2017;12:e0187044.
  16. De Bustamante M.M., Plummer C., MacNicol J., Gomez D.. Impact of Ambient Temperature Sample Storage on the Equine Fecal Microbiota. Animals 2021;11:819.
    doi: 10.3390/ani11030819pmc: PMC8001224pubmed: 33803934google scholar: lookup
  17. Turnbaugh P.J., Ley R.E., Hamady M., Fraser-Liggett C.M., Knight R., Gordon J.I.. The Human Microbiome Project. Nature 2007;449:804–810.
    doi: 10.1038/nature06244pmc: PMC3709439pubmed: 17943116google scholar: lookup
  18. Falony G., Joossens M., Vieira-Silva S., Wang J., Darzi Y., Faust K., Kurilshikov A., Bonder M.J., Valles-Colomer M., Vandeputte D.. Population-Level Analysis of Gut Microbiome Variation. Science 2016;352:560–564.
    doi: 10.1126/science.aad3503pubmed: 27126039google scholar: lookup
  19. Song S.J., Amir A., Metcalf J.L., Amato K.R., Xu Z.Z., Humphrey G., Knight R.. Preservation Methods Differ in Fecal Microbiome Stability, Affecting Suitability for Field Studies. mSystems 2016;1:e00021-16.
    doi: 10.1128/mSystems.00021-16pmc: PMC5069758pubmed: 27822526google scholar: lookup
  20. Camacho-Sanchez M., Burraco P., Gomez-Mestre I., Leonard J.A.. Preservation of RNA and DNA from Mammal Samples under Field Conditions. Mol. Ecol. Resour. 2013;13:663–673.
    doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.12108pubmed: 23617785google scholar: lookup
  21. Menke S., Gillingham M.A.F., Wilhelm K., Sommer S.. Home-Made Cost Effective Preservation Buffer Is a Better Alternative to Commercial Preservation Methods for Microbiome Research. Front. Microbiol. 2017;8:102.
    doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00102pmc: PMC5281576pubmed: 28197142google scholar: lookup
  22. Wu C., Chen T., Xu W., Zhang T., Pei Y., Yang Y., Zhang F., Guo H., Wang Q., Wang L.. The Maintenance of Microbial Community in Human Fecal Samples by a Cost Effective Preservation Buffer. Sci. Rep. 2021;11:13453.
    doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-92869-7pmc: PMC8242035pubmed: 34188136google scholar: lookup
  23. Gusberti F.A., Sampathkumar P., Siegrist B.E., Lang N.P.. Microbiological and Clinical Effects of Chlorhexidine Digluconate and Hydrogen Peroxide Mouthrinses on Developing Plaque and Gingivitis. J. Clin. Periodontol. 1988;15:60–67.
  24. Mcdonnell G., Russell A.D.. Antiseptics and Disinfectants: Activity, Action, and Resistance. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 1999;12:147–179.
    doi: 10.1128/CMR.12.1.147pmc: PMC88911pubmed: 9880479google scholar: lookup
  25. Yu Z., Morrison M.. Improved Extraction of PCR-Quality Community DNA from Digesta and Faecal Samples. BioTechniques 2004;36:808–812.
    doi: 10.2144/04365ST04pubmed: 15152600google scholar: lookup
  26. Sigma Aldridge MERK. Reliable DNA Extraction from Whatman® FTA® Cards. [(accessed on 1 October 2023)]. Available online: https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/GB/en/technical-documents/protocol/genomics/dna-and-rna-purification/whatman-reliable-extraction-of-dna.
  27. Andrews S.R.. FastQC: A Quality Control Tool for High Throughput Sequence Data. 2010.
  28. Krueger F.. Trim Galore. 2015.
  29. Ewels P., Magnusson M., Lundin S., Käller M.. MultiQC: Summarize Analysis Results for Multiple Tools and Samples in a Single Report. Bioinformatics 2016;32:3047–3048.
  30. Callahan B.J., McMurdie P.J., Rosen M.J., Han A.W., Johnson A.J.A., Holmes S.P.. DADA2: High-Resolution Sample Inference from Illumina Amplicon Data. Nat. Methods 2016;13:581–583.
    doi: 10.1038/nmeth.3869pmc: PMC4927377pubmed: 27214047google scholar: lookup
  31. Quast C., Pruesse E., Yilmaz P., Gerken J., Schweer T., Yarza P., Peplies J., Glöckner F.O.. The SILVA Ribosomal RNA Gene Database Project: Improved Data Processing and Web-Based Tools. Nucleic Acids Res. 2012;41:D590–D596.
    doi: 10.1093/nar/gks1219pmc: PMC3531112pubmed: 23193283google scholar: lookup
  32. Nilsson R.H., Larsson K.-H., Taylor A.F.S., Bengtsson-Palme J., Jeppesen T.S., Schigel D., Kennedy P., Picard K., Glöckner F.O., Tedersoo L.. The UNITE Database for Molecular Identification of Fungi: Handling Dark Taxa and Parallel Taxonomic Classifications. Nucleic Acids Res. 2019;47:D259–D264.
    doi: 10.1093/nar/gky1022pmc: PMC6324048pubmed: 30371820google scholar: lookup
  33. Pinheiro J., Bates D., DebRoy S., Sarkar D., Heisterkamp S., Van Willigen B., Ranke J.. Linear and Nonlinear Mixed Effects Models. 2023.
  34. Zuur A.F., Ieno E.N., Walker N., Saveliev A.A., Smith G.M.. Mixed Effects Models and Extensions in Ecology with R. 2009.
  35. Oksanen J., Blanche F.G., Friendly M., Kindt R., Legendre P., McGlinn D., Minchin P.R., O’Hara R.B., Simpson G.L.. Community Ecology Package. 2020.
  36. Lin H., Peddada S.D.. Analysis of Compositions of Microbiomes with Bias Correction. Nat. Commun. 2020;11:3514.
    doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-17041-7pmc: PMC7360769pubmed: 32665548google scholar: lookup
  37. Drake L.E., Cuff J.P., Young R.E., Marchbank A., Chadwick E.A., Symondson W.O.C.. An Assessment of Minimum Sequence Copy Thresholds for Identifying and Reducing the Prevalence of Artefacts in Dietary Metabarcoding Data. Methods Ecol. Evol. 2022;13:694–710.
    doi: 10.1111/2041-210X.13780google scholar: lookup
  38. Lin C.-Y., Cross T.-W.L., Doukhanine E., Swanson K.S.. An Ambient Temperature Collection and Stabilization Strategy for Canine Microbiota Studies. Sci. Rep. 2020;10:13383.
    doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-70232-6pmc: PMC7414149pubmed: 32770113google scholar: lookup
  39. Carroll I.M., Ringel-Kulka T., Siddle J.P., Klaenhammer T.R., Ringel Y.. Characterization of the Fecal Microbiota Using High-Throughput Sequencing Reveals a Stable Microbial Community during Storage. PLoS ONE 2012;7:e46953.
  40. Hale V.L., Tan C.L., Knight R., Amato K.R.. Effect of Preservation Method on Spider Monkey (Ateles Geoffroyi) Fecal Microbiota over 8 weeks. J. Microbiol. Methods 2015;113:16–26.
    doi: 10.1016/j.mimet.2015.03.021pubmed: 25819008google scholar: lookup
  41. Nel Van Zyl K., Whitelaw A.C., Newton-Foot M.. The Effect of Storage Conditions on Microbial Communities in Stool. PLoS ONE 2020;15:e0227486.
  42. Holzhausen E.A., Nikodemova M., Deblois C.L., Barnet J.H., Peppard P.E., Suen G., Malecki K.M.. Assessing the Impact of Storage Time on the Stability of Stool Microbiota Richness, Diversity, and Composition. Gut Pathog. 2021;13:75.
    doi: 10.1186/s13099-021-00470-0pmc: PMC8686582pubmed: 34930464google scholar: lookup
  43. Metcalf J.L., Song S.J., Morton J.T., Weiss S., Seguin-Orlando A., Joly F., Feh C., Taberlet P., Coissac E., Amir A.. Evaluating the Impact of Domestication and Captivity on the Horse Gut Microbiome. Sci. Rep. 2017;7:15497.
    doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-15375-9pmc: PMC5686199pubmed: 29138485google scholar: lookup
  44. Tavenner M.K., McDonnell S.M., Biddle A.S.. Development of the Equine Hindgut Microbiome in Semi-Feral and Domestic Conventionally-Managed Foals. Anim. Microbiome 2020;2:43.
    doi: 10.1186/s42523-020-00060-6pmc: PMC7807438pubmed: 33499959google scholar: lookup
  45. Pribyl A.L., Parks D.H., Angel N.Z., Boyd J.A., Hasson A.G., Fang L., MacDonald S.L., Wills B.A., Wood D.L.A., Krause L.. Critical Evaluation of Faecal Microbiome Preservation Using Metagenomic Analysis. ISME Commun. 2021;1:14.
  46. Bolt Botnen A., Bjørnsen M.B., Alberdi A., Gilbert M.T.P., Aizpurua O.. A Simplified Protocol for DNA Extraction from FTA Cards for Faecal Microbiome Studies. Heliyon 2023;9:e12861.
  47. Costea P.I., Zeller G., Sunagawa S., Pelletier E., Alberti A., Levenez F., Tramontano M., Driessen M., Hercog R., Jung F.-E.. Towards Standards for Human Fecal Sample Processing in Metagenomic Studies. Nat. Biotechnol. 2017;35:1069–1076.
    doi: 10.1038/nbt.3960pubmed: 28967887google scholar: lookup
  48. Fiedorová K., Radvanský M., Němcová E., Grombiříková H., Bosák J., Černochová M., Lexa M., Šmajs D., Freiberger T.. The Impact of DNA Extraction Methods on Stool Bacterial and Fungal Microbiota Community Recovery. Front. Microbiol. 2019;10:821.
    doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00821pmc: PMC6479168pubmed: 31057522google scholar: lookup
  49. Van Lingen H.J., Edwards J.E., Vaidya J.D., Van Gastelen S., Saccenti E., Van Den Bogert B., Bannink A., Smidt H., Plugge C.M., Dijkstra J.. Diurnal Dynamics of Gaseous and Dissolved Metabolites and Microbiota Composition in the Bovine Rumen. Front. Microbiol. 2017;8:425.
    doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00425pmc: PMC5355475pubmed: 28367142google scholar: lookup
  50. Edwards J.E., Shetty S.A., van den Berg P., Burden F., van Doorn D.A., Pellikaan W.F., Dijkstra J., Smidt H.. Multi-Kingdom Characterization of the Core Equine Fecal Microbiota Based on Multiple Equine (Sub)Species. Anim. Microbiome 2020;2:6.
    doi: 10.1186/s42523-020-0023-1pmc: PMC7807809pubmed: 33499982google scholar: lookup
  51. Janabi A.H.D., Kerkhof L.J., McGuinness L.R., Biddle A.S., McKeever K.H.. Comparison of a Modified Phenol/Chloroform and Commercial-Kit Methods for Extracting DNA from Horse Fecal Material. J. Microbiol. Methods 2016;129:14–19.
    doi: 10.1016/j.mimet.2016.07.019pubmed: 27460337google scholar: lookup

Citations

This article has been cited 0 times.