The_effect_of_the_Royal_Mail_on_fecal_microbiome_samples

As we prepare to undertake large scale microbiome studies in IBD we are conducting a variety of pilots relating to the logistics of sample collection. In this experiment, we are testing the effect of different methods of remote fecal sample collection on final composition of species determined by sequencing. Specifically, we're comparing about a dozen varieties of sample processing, including different amounts of time spent in the Royal Mail system, storage for long times at room temperature, and immediate -80 freezing. All of these approaches have been tried on 18 individuals, and processed using standard kits. We now want to run 192 individual x technique combinations in one run of 16S sequencing on a MiSeq. PCR and library making is already done, so sequencing costs are all that is required.