Global patterns of 16S rRNA diversity at a depth of millions of sequences per sample

The ongoing revolution in high-throughput sequencing continues to democratize the ability of small groups of investigators to map the microbial component of the biosphere. In particular, the coevolution of new sequencing platforms and new software tools allows data acquisition and analysis on an unprecedented scale. Here we report the next stage in this coevolutionary arms race, using the Illumina GAIIx platform to sequence a diverse array of 25 environmental samples and three known "mock communities" at a depth averaging 3.1 million reads per sample. We demonstrate excellent consistency in taxonomic recovery and recapture diversity patterns that were previously reported on the basis of metaanalysis of many…

• NS
  National Science Foundation
• HH
  Howard Hughes Medical Institute
• UD
  U.S. Department of Agriculture
• BA
  Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• CA
  Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America
• UO
  University of Wisconsin-Madison
• CA
  Crohn's and Colitis Foundation
• NI
  National Institutes of Health
• UO
  University of California, Irvine