TABLE 2.

Summary of costs and results for different collection methods

Method	Per-unit cost ($)a	Resultd
		Metagenomics			Metabolomics
		Stability	Concordance	Reliability	Stability	Concordance	Reliability
95% ethanol	0.23b	−	++	−	++	++	+
RNAlater	5.40b	++	++	+	+	+	−
Microlution	12.14c	+	++	+	+	+	+
OMNIgene	20.00	++	++	++	+	+	−
FOBT card	7.52c	++	+	+	NA	NA	NA

^aCosts for all methods were derived from Fisher Scientific, except for Microlution and OMNIgene Gut. The cost estimate for Microlution was sourced from https://www.biomart.cn/infosupply/48662146.htm. The cost estimate for OMNIgene Gut was sourced from peer-reviewed research (62).

^bTwo-milliliter volume; did not include containment and collection devices.

^cDid not include collection device.

^d++ (good) means that the number of ICCs of ≥0.75 is ≥10 in the abundance of the top 4 phyla and 15 microbial diversity metrics at the species, gene, and pathway levels or that the median ICC across metabolites is >0.70. + (medium) means that the number of ICCs of ≥0.75 is 6 to 11 in the abundance of the top 4 phyla and 15 microbial diversity metrics at the species, gene, and pathway levels or that the median ICC across metabolites is 0.45 to 0.70. − (poor) means that the number of ICCs of ≥0.75 is <6 in the abundance of the top 4 phyla and 15 microbial diversity metrics at the species, gene, and pathway levels or that the median ICC across metabolites is <0.45. NA, not applicable.