Comparison of Oral Microbiota Collected Using Multiple Methods and Recommendations for New Epidemiologic Studies
Yukiko Yano, Xing Hua, Yunhu Wan, Shalabh Suman, Bin Zhu, Casey Dagnall, Amy Hutchinson, Kristine Jones, Belynda Hicks, Jianxin Shi, Christian C. Abnet, Emily Vogtmann
Abstract
We compared four different oral collection methods for studying the human oral microbiome: an OMNIgene ORAL kit, Scope mouthwash, nonethanol mouthwash, and Saccomanno's fixative. Our study shows that the type of the collection method can have a large impact on the results of an oral microbiome analysis. We recommend that one consistent oral collection method should be used for all oral microbiome comparisons. While Scope and nonethanol mouthwashes are less expensive and provide results similar to those with OMNIgene, Saccomanno's fixative may be unfavorable due to the microbial differences detected in this study. Our results will help guide the design of future oral microbiome studies.