An integrated research solution for bacterial identification using 16S rRNA sequencing on the Ion PGMTM System with Ion ReporterTM Software

• Three reference query options classify individual reads via alignment to either the premium curated MicroSEQ® ID or curated Greengenes databases as well as an optimal two-step alignment that utilizes both databases Introduction Understanding the diversity of bacterial communities, in almost any environment, has been greatly facilitated by rapid advances in nextgeneration sequencing (NGS) technologies and associated bioinformatics approaches. Research using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequencing is a fast, inexpensive profiling technique based on variation in the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. This method has a wide range of uses, including the characterization of bacterial populations, taxonomical analysis, and species identification. For example, the Ion PGMTM System was used to characterize bacterial communities important for research in human health using archived samples from a diversity of sites including the mouth [1, 2], airway [3, 4], diabetic mycetoma (or “Madura foot”) [5], meconium [6], the hands of healthcare workers [7], brain abscesses [8], and the human and murine intestinal tract [9, 10, 11, 12]. 16S rRNA Sequencing