Department of Medical Microbiology, Leiden University Medical Center, PO Box 9600, 2300RC, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Center for Microbiome Analyses and Therapeutics, Leiden University Medical Center, PO Box 9600, 2300RC, Leiden, The Netherlands.
FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2019 May 1;95(5). doi: 10.1093/femsec/fiz045.
Good scientific practice is important in all areas of science. In recent years this has gained more and more attention, especially considering the 'scientific reproducibility crisis'. While most researchers are aware of the issues with good scientific practice, not all of these issues are necessarily clear, and the details can be very complicated. For many years it has been accepted to perform and publish sequencing based microbiome studies without including proper controls. Although in recent years more scientists realize the necessity of implementing controls, this poses a problem due to the complexity of the field. Another concern is the inability to properly interpret the information gained from controls in microbiome studies. Here, we will discuss these issues and provide a comprehensive overview of problematic points regarding controls in microbiome research, and of the current standards in this area.
良好的科学实践在科学的各个领域都很重要。近年来，这一点越来越受到关注，尤其是考虑到“科学可重复性危机”。虽然大多数研究人员都意识到良好的科学实践存在问题，但并非所有问题都清楚，而且细节可能非常复杂。多年来，人们一直接受在不包括适当对照的情况下进行基于测序的微生物组研究并发表相关结果。尽管近年来越来越多的科学家意识到实施对照的必要性，但由于该领域的复杂性，这带来了一个问题。另一个令人担忧的问题是无法正确解释从微生物组研究对照中获得的信息。在这里，我们将讨论这些问题，并全面概述微生物组研究中对照存在的问题点以及该领域的当前标准。
