Validation of fish larval preservation methods to aid in metagenomic research

• Influence of preservation methods on marine fish larval microbiome profiles was systematically analyzed, which showed that the methods could influence the DNA yield, many taxonomic and functional profiles of microbiome .
• Immediate freezing without any buffer, preservation at room temperature in absolute ethanol, and preservation at -20^o C in lysis storage transportation buffer can be adopted for fish larval microbiome research.
• Preservation in TE buffer at -20^o C is not ideal for marine fish larval microbiome research
• Larvae preserved in absolute ethanol at room temperature indicated significant similarity from the deep frozen samples, which has to be given due attention while interpreting and cross-comparing the results of past and future studies on the fish larval microbiome.