Comparison of large intestine, rectal swab and stool samples on bacterial community profiles

The human gastrointestinal tract has a complex and dynamic population of microorganisms, the gut microbiota. Although interests about the contribution of gut microbiota to human health has been increased, there is still no standard sampling protocol with consensus to investigate the microbiome analysis. The aims of this study were to characterize the microbial composition of different large intestine segments and to provide rationale for using rectal swab to identify colon environment