Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29776435›Full record

ArticleMicrobiome2018

Fecal Aliquot Straw Technique (FAST) allows for easy and reproducible subsampling: assessing interpersonal variation in trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) accumulation.

Kymberleigh A Romano, Kimberly A Dill-McFarland, Kazuyuki Kasahara, Robert L Kerby, Eugenio I Vivas, Daniel Amador-Noguez, Pamela Herd, Federico E Rey

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Microbiome, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

20 citing papers in PubMed, 46 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
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  7. Fecal short-chain fatty acids vary by sex and amyloid status.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025
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  13. Prenatal Lead Exposure is Negatively Associated with the Gut Microbiome in Childhood.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2023
    Article
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. A gut microbial metabolite of dietary polyphenols reverses obesity-driven hepatic steatosis.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Kymberleigh A RomanoDepartment of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
Kimberly A Dill-McFarlandDepartment of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
Kazuyuki KasaharaDepartment of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
Robert L KerbyDepartment of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
Eugenio I VivasDepartment of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
Daniel Amador-NoguezDepartment of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
Pamela HerdCenter for the Demography of Health and Aging, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
Federico E ReyDepartment of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA. ferey@wisc.edu.
University of Wisconsin–Madison · USCleveland Clinic · USUniversity of British Columbia · CA

Funding

Research Training for Computation and Informatics in Biology and MedicineT15LM007359 · NLM · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI Mark W. Craven, Colin Noel Dewey · 2002 to 2026
$22.6M
Statistical Data Enclave CoreP30AG017266 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI Michal Engelman · 1999 to 2026
$17.0M
A Longitudinal Resource for Genetic Research in Behavioral & Health SciencesR01AG041868 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI FREESE, JEREMY J, HAUSER, ROBERT M. · 2013 to 2017
$3.0M
Collaborative Cross of the Microbiome and Metabolic DiseaseR01DK108259 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI REY, FEDERICO E · 2015 to 2019
$2.1M
Center for the Demography of Health and Aging AG017266National Institute of Food and Agriculture 2016-67017-24416NIA NIH HHS P30 AG017266NIA NIH HHS R01 AG041868NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK108259NIH HHS AG041868NIH HHS DK108259-01NLM NIH HHS T15 LM007359U.S. National Library of Medicine NLM5T15LM007359
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundConvenient, reproducible, and rapid preservation of unique biological specimens is pivotal to their use in microbiome analyses. As an increasing number of human studies incorporate the gut microbiome in their design, there is a high demand for streamlined sample collection and storage methods that are amenable to different settings and experimental needs. While several commercial kits address collection/shipping needs for sequence-based studies, these methods do not preserve samples properly for studies that require viable microbes.

resultsWe describe the Fecal Aliquot Straw Technique (FAST) of fecal sample processing for storage and subsampling. This method uses a straw to collect fecal material from samples recently voided or preserved at low temperature but not frozen (i.e., 4 °C). Different straw aliquots collected from the same sample yielded highly reproducible communities as disclosed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing; operational taxonomic units that were lost, or gained, between the two aliquots represented very low-abundance taxa (i.e., < 0.3% of the community). FAST-processed samples inoculated into germ-free animals resulted in gut communities that retained on average ~ 80% of the donor's bacterial community. Assessment of choline metabolism and trimethylamine-N-oxide accumulation in transplanted mice suggests large interpersonal variation.

conclusionsOverall, FAST allows for repetitive subsampling without thawing of the specimens and requires minimal supplies and storage space, making it convenient to utilize both in the lab and in the field. FAST has the potential to advance microbiome research through easy, reproducible sample processing.

Indexed as

AnimalsBacteriaBase SequenceFecesGastrointestinal MicrobiomeHumansMethylaminesMiceRNA, Ribosomal, 16SSequence Analysis, DNASpecimen HandlingMethylaminesRNA, Ribosomal, 16StrimethyloxamineCholineFASTFecal Aliquot Straw TechniqueMicrobiomeTMAO

Identifiers

PMID29776435
PMCPMC5960144
OpenAlexW2805232521

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.