Figure 2.
Two-step generation of 16S amplicons for PacBio sequencing using M13-tagged barcoded primers. The first round of PCR amplifies full-length 16S rRNA fragments using gene-specific primers tailed with universal M13 forward or reverse sequence. In the second step, a unique combination of barcode sequences is added to 16S amplicons from each sample using M13 forward and reverse primers tagged with 16-base PacBio barcodes at their 5′ ends. Barcoded amplicons are subsequently pooled for SMRTbell library construction and multiplexed sequencing.