Student vs researcher echidna scat metagenomic sequencing
Metagenomic sequencing is increasingly being incorporated into undergraduate student practicals, the results of which have formed part of published research projects. However, the quality of student-generated data has not yet been validated. We designed an undergraduate practical series in which students generated microbial profiles of short-beaked echidna scats using matched samples that were also profiled by a trained researcher. Our research revealed that students were able to produce research-grade microbiome data comparable to a postgraduate researcher, and that students did not introduce contamination at a higher rate than the trained researcher.Please note that this dataset contains sequencing data of varying quality; it was generated for experimental validation purposes rather than to examine its biological relevance.
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