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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 7, 2026

Fecal micro RNA Isolation

Fecal micro RNA Isolation

Published on: October 28, 2020

Stool metatranscriptomics: A technical guideline for mRNA stabilisation and isolation.

Michael Reck¹, Jürgen Tomasch², Zhiluo Deng³

¹Research Group Microbial Communication, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany. Michael.Reck@helmholtz-hzi.de.

|July 5, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Optimizing gut microbiome mRNA extraction is key for metatranscriptomics. RNA Later best preserves integrity, but introduces bias; RNA Protect is less effective for long-term storage of stool samples.

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Last Updated: Apr 7, 2026

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Published on: October 28, 2020

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An Oligonucleotide-based Tandem RNA Isolation Procedure to Recover Eukaryotic mRNA-Protein Complexes

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Published on: August 18, 2018

Area of Science:

Microbiology
Genomics

Background:

The gut microbiome significantly impacts human health.
Metatranscriptomics offers insights into microbial activity but faces technical challenges.
High-quality mRNA extraction from stool is crucial for accurate analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

To optimize a pipeline for extracting high-quality mRNA from stool samples.
To evaluate RNA extraction kits and sample stabilization methods for metatranscriptomics.

Main Methods:

Compared three commercial RNA extraction kits and the Zoetendal method.
Assessed RNA integrity and yield using RIN analysis and qRT-PCR.
Investigated the impact of RNA Later and RNA Protect on mRNA stability and sequencing results.

Main Results:

The Powermicrobiome Kit yielded the best RNA quantity and purity.
RNA Later effectively preserved mRNA integrity for up to 15 days.
RNA Later introduced storage bias, affecting taxonomic and functional profiles, while RNA Protect showed rapid mRNA decay.

Conclusions:

The optimized pipeline enables high-quality mRNA extraction for metatranscriptomics.
RNA Later is suitable for short-term storage, but its bias must be considered.
RNA Protect is less effective for preserving mRNA integrity beyond 24 hours.