Long-term stability of Fecal Samples Stored in eNAT Medium

eNAT® (Copan Italia, Brescia, Italy) is a guanidine thiocyanate-based medium developed for the preservation and stabilization of DNA in clinical specimens used for nucleic acid tests. eNAT contains a detergent and a protein denaturant to completely inactivate microorganisms and does not require special shipping. In this study, we compared microbiome diversity and composition of fecal samples stored in a standard microbiome medium (RNAlater solution) to matched fecal samples stored in eNAT. As a secondary objective, we evaluated the stability of the gut microbiome in fecal samples stored in eNAT at ambient temperature.

eNAT®（意大利布雷西亚的Copan Italia公司）是一款基于硫氰酸胍的培养基，专为核酸检测所用临床标本的DNA保存与稳定而研发。该培养基含有去污剂与蛋白质变性剂，可完全灭活微生物，且无需特殊运输条件。本研究中，我们对比了保存于标准微生物组培养基（RNAlater溶液）的粪便样本，与配对的保存于eNAT®的粪便样本的微生物组多样性及组成。作为次要研究目标，我们评估了保存于eNAT®的粪便样本在室温条件下肠道微生物组的稳定性。