title: Bacterial community diversity of the American alligator gastrointestinal tract from wild and farm-raised individuals during feeding and fasting
design: Total nucleic acids were extracted in triplicate from tissue (~1cm3), gastric fluids (200µl), and fecal material (~1cm3 when present). Samples were homogenized in ~150 to 200µl 1x TE buffer, and total nucleic acids were extracted using the Qiagen DNeasy kit, following manufacturer instructions. Pyrosequencing of the V1-V3 region of 16S rRNA genes was done using a 454 GS FLX Titanium at the Research and Testing Laboratory (Lubbock, TX).