ArticleTranslational vision science & technology2021
The Ocular Microbiome Is Altered by Sampling Modality and Age.
Article in Translational vision science & technology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Review
- An interdisciplinary scoping review of the emerging impact of periocular skincare products on the ocular surface microbiome and tear film stability.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
- The Ocular Surface Microbiome in Homeostasis and Dysbiosis.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Sequencing the ocular surface microbiome: a review of methodological practices and considerations.Frontiers in ophthalmology · 2025Review
- No Evidence of Chronic Infection in a Metagenomic Sequencing Study of the Keratoconus Corneal Epithelium.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Exploring the Ocular Surface Microbiome and Tear Proteome in Glaucoma.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Next-Generation Sequencing of the Human Aqueous Humour Microbiome.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Methodologic Considerations for Studying the Ocular Surface Microbiome.Ophthalmology science · 2023Review
- Characterization and Comparison of Ocular Surface Microbiome in Newborns.Microorganisms · 2022Article
- Profiling of the Conjunctival Bacterial Microbiota Reveals the Feasibility of Utilizing a Microbiome-Based Machine Learning Model to Differentially Diagnose Microbial Keratitis and the Core Components of the Conjunctival Bacterial Interaction Network.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2022Article
- Metagenomic profiling of ocular surface microbiome changes inFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Background: Studies of the ocular microbiome have used a variety of sampling techniques, but no study has directly compared different sampling methods applied to the same eyes to one another or to a reference standard of corneal epithelial biopsy. We addressed this lack by comparing the microbiome from three conjunctival swabs with those of corneal epithelial biopsy. Methods: Twelve eyes (11 patients) were swabbed by calcium alginate swab, cotton-tipped applicator, and Weck-Cel cellulose sponge before a corneal epithelial biopsy (48 samples). We then performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing and universal 16S rRNA gene real-time polymerase chain reaction. Negative/blank controls were used to eliminate contaminants. An analysis was performed to examine the concordance of the three swab types to corneal epithelial biopsy. The effect of patient age on the ocular microbiome as determined by epithelial biopsy was also examined. Results: The ocular microbiome from corneal epithelial biopsies consisted of 31 genera with a relative abundance of 1% or more, including Weisella, Corynebacterium, and Pseudomonas. Of the three swab types, Weck-Cel differed the most from corneal biopsies based on beta-diversity analysis. Cotton swabs were unable to capture the Bacteroides population seen on epithelial biopsy. Therefore, calcium alginate swabs seemed to be the closest to epithelial biopsies. Older patients (≥65 years old) had higher alpha diversity (P < 0.05) than younger patients. Differential abundance testing showed that there were 18 genera that were differentially abundant between the two age groups, including Streptococcus and eight members of the Proteobacteria phylum. Conclusions: We demonstrate that ocular sampling method and patient age can greatly affect the outcome of sequencing-based analysis of the ocular microbiome. Translational Relevance: By understanding the impact of different sampling methods on the results obtained from the ocular surface microbiome, future research on the topic will be more reproducible, leading to a better understanding of ocular surface microbiome in health and disease.
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Registered trials
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