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analysis and drafted the manuscript. SYM performed the animal experiment and provided critical discussions during revision. WYZ conceived this study, finalized the manuscript and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.”
“Background The human bowel hosts trillions of gut microbial cells, the gut microbiome [1]. Although case–control investigation points to a potential role of the gut microbiome in colorectal cancer [2], large-scale prospective study of this association has been impeded by the lack of validated fecal sample SHP099 concentration collection methods suitable for large-scale studies. Our interest was in development of a fecal sample collection method that is accurate, while also being cost-efficient and easy for the study participant to use. Because fecal collections may take place outside of research clinics, we also wished to develop a fecal collection approach which would not require immediate sample processing.