Department of Family Medicine, Yongin Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 363, Dongbaekjukjeon-daero, Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, 16995, Republic of Korea.
MediCloud Corp, 77, Changnyoung-daero 256beon-gil, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, , Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2021 Dec;105(24):9273-9284. doi: 10.1007/s00253-021-11650-y. Epub 2021 Nov 13.
The human gastrointestinal tract contains a complex and dynamic population of microorganisms, known as the gut microbiota. Although interest in the role of the gut microbiota in human health has increased in recent years, there remains no standard sampling protocol for analyzing these organisms. Here, we aimed to characterize the microbial composition of distinct segments of the large intestine and to determine whether rectal swabs are suitable for identifying colon microbiota. A total of 100 participants who underwent screening colonoscopy from October 2019 to October 2020 were included in this study. Large intestinal samples (ascending colon, descending colon, sigmoid colon, and rectum) were aspirated by colonoscopy. Rectal swabs were collected before colonoscopy, and stool samples were collected before patients began colonoscopy preparation. All samples were subjected to 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. We identified differences in the number of phylum-level operational taxonomic units among large intestinal samples, rectal swabs, and stool. Five major phyla were detected in all samples (Firmicutes, Bacteroides, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Fusobacteria), although their relative abundances varied. Notably, we found that the microbial compositions of rectal swabs were most similar to those of the sigmoid colon and rectum, whereas the microbiota in stool were relatively different than those from the large intestine and rectal swabs. Our results reveal the existence of microbial heterogeneity within different large intestinal compartments and further suggest that rectal swabs are an acceptable and practical tool for gut microbiota analysis. KEY POINTS: • Our findings highlight local microbiome variations within different regions of the large intestine. • Stool samples do not appear to fully recapitulate the gut microbiome. • Our data from a large population-based cohort indicate that rectal swabs can be used to study the gut microbiome.
人类胃肠道中存在着复杂而动态的微生物群体，被称为肠道微生物群。尽管近年来人们对肠道微生物群在人类健康中的作用越来越感兴趣，但目前仍没有用于分析这些微生物的标准采样方案。在这里，我们旨在描述大肠不同部位的微生物组成，并确定直肠拭子是否适合识别结肠微生物群。本研究共纳入 2019 年 10 月至 2020 年 10 月期间接受筛查性结肠镜检查的 100 名参与者。通过结肠镜检查吸取大肠样本（升结肠、降结肠、乙状结肠和直肠）。在结肠镜检查前采集直肠拭子，在患者开始结肠镜检查准备前采集粪便样本。所有样本均进行 16S 核糖体 RNA 基因测序。我们发现大肠样本、直肠拭子和粪便之间的门水平操作分类单位数量存在差异。所有样本中均检测到五个主要门（厚壁菌门、拟杆菌门、变形菌门、放线菌门、梭杆菌门），但其相对丰度有所不同。值得注意的是，我们发现直肠拭子的微生物组成与乙状结肠和直肠最为相似，而粪便中的微生物组成与大肠和直肠拭子的微生物组成则有较大差异。我们的研究结果揭示了不同大肠部位之间存在微生物异质性，并进一步表明直肠拭子是分析肠道微生物群的一种可接受且实用的工具。关键点： • 我们的发现强调了大肠不同部位之间存在局部微生物组差异。 • 粪便样本似乎不能完全再现肠道微生物组。 • 我们来自大型基于人群队列的数据表明，直肠拭子可用于研究肠道微生物组。
