amplicon sequencing of a synthetic microbial community
Genomic DNA was extracted using a 96-well plate adaption of the DNeasy protocol (Qiagen).  Genomic DNA was normalized to 1 ng/uL in molecular grade water and stored at -20C.  Dual-indexed primers for multiplexed amplicon sequencing of the v3-v4 region of the 16S gene were designed as described previously, and arrayed in 96-well, skirted PCR plates (Thomas Scientific) using an acoustic liquid handling robot (Echo LabCyte).  Genomic DNA and PCR master mix were added to primer plates and amplified prior to sequencing on an Illumina MiSeq platform (Illumina)