DOI: 10.5061/dryad.9zw3r22ph
title: Data from: Oral exposure to benzalkonium chlorides in male and female mice reveals sex-dependent alteration of the gut microbiome and bile acid profile

description: Benzalkonium chlorides (BACs) are commonly used disinfectants in a variety
 of consumer and food-processing settings, and the COVID-19 pandemic has
 led to increased usage of BACs. The prevalence of BACs raises the concern
 that BAC exposure could disrupt the gastrointestinal microbiota, thus
 interfering with the beneficial functions of the microbes. We hypothesize
 that BAC exposure can alter the gut microbiome diversity and composition,
 which will disrupt bile acid homeostasis along the gut-liver axis. In this
 study, male and female mice were exposed orally to d7-C12- and d7-C16-BACs
 at 120 µg/g/day for one week. UPLC-MS/MS analysis of liver, blood, and
 fecal samples of BAC-treated mice demonstrated the absorption and
 metabolism of BACs. Both parent BACs and their metabolites were detected
 in all exposed samples. Additionally, 16S rRNA sequencing was carried out
 on the bacterial DNA isolated from the cecum intestinal content. For
 female mice, and to a lesser extent in males, we found that treatment with
 either d7-C12- or d7-C16-BAC led to decreased alpha diversity and
 differential composition of gut bacteria with notably decreased
 actinobacteria phylum. Lastly, through a targeted bile acid quantitation
 analysis, we observed decreases in secondary bile acids in BAC-treated
 mice, which was more pronounced in the female mice. This finding is
 supported by decreases in bacteria known to metabolize primary bile acids
 into secondary bile acids, such as the families of Ruminococcaceae and
 Lachnospiraceae. Together, these data signify the potential impact of BACs
 on human health through disturbance of the gut microbiome and gut-liver
 interactions.
description: Total DNA was extracted from the cecum of untreated and treated
 mice using E.Z.N.A. DNA Stool Kit (Omega Bio-tek, Inc., Norcross, GA)
 according to the manufacturer’s protocol. The concentration of DNA was
 determined via Qubit 2.0 Fluorometer (Life Technologies/Thermo Fisher
 Scientific, Grand Island, NY). The integrity and quality of DNA samples
 were confirmed by the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer (Agilent Technologies Inc.,
 Santa Clara, CA). The V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified and
 sequenced using HiSeq. 2500 platform (250-bp paired-end) (Novogene,
 Beijing, China) (n = 4-6).
description: # Data from: Oral exposure to benzalkonium chlorides in male and female
 mice reveals sex-dependent alteration of the gut microbiome and bile acid
 profile 16S rRNA Sequencing Data
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.9zw3r22ph](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.9zw3r22ph) Total DNA was extracted from the cecum of untreated and treated male and female C57BL/6 mice using E.Z.N.A. DNA Stool Kit (Omega Bio-tek, Inc., Norcross, GA) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. The concentration of DNA was determined via Qubit 2.0 Fluorometer (Life Technologies/Thermo Fisher Scientific, Grand Island, NY). The integrity and quality of DNA samples were confirmed by the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer (Agilent Technologies Inc., Santa Clara, CA). The V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced using HiSeq. 2500 platform (250-bp paired-end) (Novogene, Beijing, China) (n = 4-6). ## Description of the data and file structure Data files are zipped fastq and fq format. Control1-6, C12BAC1-6, and C16BAC1-6 files are that of male samples. ctrlf1-4, C12BACf1-4 and C16BACf1-4 are female samples.  ## Code/Software Files were processed on Linux interface using Qiime 2020.2 version workflow. Including import of data using manifest file, Dada2, Phylogeny, Diversity metrics, Silva132 and Taxa Bar Plots