Miniaturized 16S rRNA Amplicon Sequencing with the Labcyte Echo 525 Liquid Handler

Our understanding of the microbial communities in human health, metagenomics, and metataxonomics has been growing rapidly in recent years and is being increasingly elucidated every day. Amplicon sequencing of highly conserved prokaryotic 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) regions has long been the standard technique used to assess the diversity and phylogenetic classification of these communities. While advances in next-generation sequencing are enabling routine whole-genome shotgun sequencing in microbial communities, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing is still frequently used for quick diagnosis of samples. Here, a standard Illumina 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing library preparation is performed at miniaturized scale using the Labcyte Echo^® 525 Liquid Handler, effectively reducing reaction volumes and input sample while maintaining sufficient read depth to accurately capture the community. The result is a significantly cost-reduced workflow per sample, saving reagent costs, operational time costs, and valuable sample DNA.