High-throughput DNA metabarcoding of feather mites
Dr Jorge Doña
University of Illinois
"Read no more and prepare your samples! If you are interested in outsourcing your genomic project, AllGenetics is probably your best option. AllGenetics has an enormous capacity to carry out any kind of projects; from studying the diet of tiny mites using DNA metabarcoding to de-novo assembling a large plant genome. The team is composed of highly qualified professionals, and the overall quality standard is very high. Last but not least, you never feel you are on your own at any stage of the project, as they are always willing to help"
Goal
The research team was interested in developing a high-throughput method to identify to the species level hundreds of mite infracommunities. Thanks to our expertise in DNA metabarcoding, we were able to offer them a cost-effective solution.
Approach
At AllGenetics, we extracted DNA from over 3000 samples using a non-destructive protocol. Then, we prepared the DNA metabarcoding libraries by amplifying a fragment of the COI mitochondrial region, and sequenced them in the Illumina MiSeq platform. Finally, we analysed the sequencing results and assigned the taxonomy using an extensive DNA barcoding database previously developed by the research team.
Results
By studying the DNA metabarcoding results generated by AllGenetics in detail, the research team was able to unveil unexpected combinations of birds and feather mites, with important evolutionary implications. This research is available from the journals Molecular Ecology, Experimental and Applied Acarology, and Scientific Reports.