Effects of three stool samples preservation methods on the detection results of enteric microbial population were compared in order to provide reference for the selection of short term preservation methods after collecting stool sample. Fresh stool samples from 10 volunteers were collected, each one was stored at 4 ℃, room temperature (25 ℃) and anhydrous ethanol for 4 hours, and then, all of them were put into cryogenic refrigerator at -80 ℃ for freeze preservation. Subsequently, bacterial DNA was extracted, and then amplified their 16S rRNA V4 region genes, then, Illumina Miseq platform was applied for high throughput sequencing to compare the diversity and composition differences of enteric microbial population by the three preservation methods. The results showed that there was no significant statistic differences in Alpha diversity of enteric microbial population among the three preservation methods (P>0.05). Comparison of enteric microbial population at genera level showed that the relative abundance of Lachnospira in the anhydrous ethanol group was higher than that in the 4 ℃ group and the room temperature group (P<0.05), and the relative abundance of Sutterella in the anhydrous ethanol group was higher than that in the 4 ℃ group (P<0.05). Moreover, the relative abundance of Eubacterium in the anhydrous ethanol group was lower than that in the room temperature group (P<0.05). PCoA analysis showed that when UniFrac distance after weighted, the stool samples of the same subjects stored at 4 ℃ and anhydrous ethanol, and the results of enteric microbial population were relatively close, while room temperature preservation may lead to the dispersal of enteric microbial population in individual subjects. Anhydrous ethanol could preserve stool samples for a short time, and keep the diversity, composition and structure of enteric microbial population remain stable, and could meet the needs of different researches. In addition, anhydrous ethanol has the advantages of low cost and portability. Therefore, when fresh stool samples could not be frozen immediately, anhydrous ethanol preservation could be taken as a primary choice. |