Critical comparison of storage strategies for oral metagenomics
Ten different storage conditions for a total of 50 saliva samples were examined using sterile Falcon tubes, ZymoBIOMICS DNA/RNA Shield tubes, and Oragene Discover kits. Different storage conditions included immediate processing, freezing at -80 C, storage at room temperature, and incubation at 30 C for up to three days. Microbial nucleic acids were extracted using the Qiagen QiAamp DNA Microbiome Kit and subjected to metagenomic sequencing on the Illumina NovaSeq X Plus platform. Sequencing depth, alpha and beta diversity, and microbial taxonomic profiles were compared across conditions.