Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 57, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
Lab Anim. 2012 Jul;46(3):231-6. doi: 10.1258/la.2012.011128. Epub 2012 Jun 21.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based denaturation gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) is currently being used for characterizing the composition of the gut microbiota (GM) of mice in order to better control the study variation arising from the GM. At present, faeces are commonly sampled from live animals, while caecum is most commonly sampled from terminated animals. However, there is no knowledge whether the composition at the one site is representative for the other. In this study C57BL/6 mice were observed from the age of four weeks until the age of 10 weeks. Faeces were sampled weekly. Caecum was sampled surgically under anaesthesia and with subsequent ampicillin treatment at the age of six weeks and again after euthanasia at the age of 10 weeks. Faecal and caecal microbiota profiles were determined using DGGE and subjected to subsequent cluster analysis. The mice subjected to surgical caecal sampling clustered separately for two weeks after termination of antibiotics after which they again clustered with the non-surgically sampled mice. Faecal and caecal profiles clustered separately at the age of six weeks, but not at the age of 10 weeks. There were no correlations between faecal or caecal profiles at six or 10 weeks of age, respectively. It is concluded that faecal and caecal microbiota profiles are not representative of each other in mice. Therefore, it is recommendable in studies to sample from several sites specifically decided in relation to the specific model of a study.
聚合酶链式反应（PCR）-变性梯度凝胶电泳（DGGE）目前用于描述小鼠肠道微生物组（GM）的组成，以便更好地控制 GM 引起的研究变异性。目前，通常从活体动物中采集粪便，而从处死的动物中最常采集盲肠。然而，目前尚不清楚一个部位的组成是否代表另一个部位。在这项研究中，C57BL/6 小鼠从 4 周龄观察到 10 周龄。每周采集粪便。6 周龄时在麻醉下通过手术采集盲肠，并在之后给予氨苄青霉素治疗，10 周龄时安乐死后再次采集。使用 DGGE 测定粪便和盲肠微生物群的组成，并进行随后的聚类分析。接受手术盲肠采样的小鼠在抗生素停药后两周内单独聚类，之后再次与非手术采样的小鼠聚类。6 周龄时粪便和盲肠的图谱分别聚类，但 10 周龄时不聚类。6 周或 10 周时粪便或盲肠的图谱之间没有相关性。结论是在小鼠中，粪便和盲肠微生物群图谱彼此不具有代表性。因此，建议在研究中根据特定的研究模型从几个特定部位进行采样。
