CAMbank: Body Microbiome Swabbing (v1) v1

This protocol describes the standardized collection of body swabs for microbiome and microbial diversity analyses in both ground-based and spaceflight settings. The method is designed to capture microbial communities from multiple anatomical sites relevant to astronaut health monitoring. During the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission, swabs were collected at all study timepoints from 10 body locations: two dry-swab sites (oral cavity, nasal cavity) and eight wet-swab sites (post-auricular area, axillary vault, volar forearm, occiput, umbilicus, gluteal crease, glabella, and toe web space). For wet-swab collections, sterile DNA/RNA swabs were pre-moistened with nuclease-free water (ground) or hydrogen-infused water (in-flight). Each site was swabbed for 30 seconds using firm pressure and both sides of the swab tip. Swabs were placed in 2D matrix tubes containing DNA/RNA Shield preservative and stored at 4°C during collection periods. Post-mission, all samples were archived at −80°C in the Cornell Aerospace Medicine Biobank. These swabs are suitable for downstream metagenomic, metatranscriptomic, and targeted amplicon sequencing to assess microbial composition, alpha/beta diversity, and potential shifts in skin and mucosal microbiota associated with spaceflight. The protocol supports the Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA) initiative’s objective of generating standardized, comparable microbiome datasets across missions to inform astronaut health risk assessments and countermeasure development.