RNA preservation agents and nucleic acid extraction method bias perceived bacterial community composition.

ABSTRACT: Bias is a pervasive problem when characterizing microbial communities. An important source is the difference in lysis efficiencies of different populations, which vary depending on the extraction protocol used. To avoid such biases impacting comparisons between gene and transcript abundances in the environment, the use of one protocol that simultaneously extracts both types of nucleic acids from microbial community samples has gained popularity. However, knowledge regarding tradeoffs to combined nucleic acid extraction protocols is limited, particularly regarding yield and biases in the observed community composition. Here, we evaluated a commercially available protocol for simultaneous extraction of DNA and RNA, which we adapted for freshwater microbial community samples that were collect

SUBMITTER: McCarthy A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4370824 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature