Variable Region Sequences Influence 16S rRNA Performance.

16S rRNA gene sequences are commonly analyzed for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies because they contain variable regions that can help distinguish different genera. However, intra-genus distinction using variable region homology is often impossible due to the high overall sequence identities among closely related species, even though some residues may be conserved within respective species. Using a computational method that included the allelic diversity within individual genomes, we discovered that certain Escherichia and species can be distinguished by a multi-allelic 16S rRNA variable region single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP).

Microbial Communities in Retail Draft Beers and the Biofilms They Produce.

In the beer brewing industry, microbial spoilage presents a consistent threat that must be monitored and controlled to ensure the palatability of a finished product. Many of the predominant beer spoilage microbes have been identified and characterized, but the mechanisms of contamination and persistence remain an open area of study. Postproduction, many beers are distributed as kegs that are attached to draft delivery systems in retail settings where ample opportunities for microbial spoilage are present.

Target capture enrichment of nuclear SNP markers for massively parallel sequencing of degraded and mixed samples.

DNA from biological forensic samples can be highly fragmented and present in limited quantity. When DNA is highly fragmented, conventional PCR based Short Tandem Repeat (STR) analysis may fail as primer binding sites may not be present on a single template molecule. Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) can serve as an alternative type of genetic marker for analysis of degraded samples because the targeted variation is a single base.

Correction: Shelly Y. Shih; et al.; Applications of Probe Capture Enrichment Next Generation Sequencing for Whole Mitochondrial Genome and 426 Nuclear SNPs for Forensically Challenging Samples. Genes 2018, 9, 49.

The authors wish to make the following change to their paper [1][...

Applications of Probe Capture Enrichment Next Generation Sequencing for Whole Mitochondrial Genome and 426 Nuclear SNPs for Forensically Challenging Samples.

The application of next generation sequencing (NGS) for the analysis of mitochondrial (mt) DNA, short tandem repeats (STRs), and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) has demonstrated great promise for challenging forensic specimens, such as degraded, limited, and mixed samples. Target enrichment using probe capture rather than PCR amplification offers advantages for analysis of degraded DNA since two intact PCR primer sites in the template DNA molecule are not required. Furthermore, NGS software programs can help remove PCR duplicates to determine initial template copy numbers of a shotgun library.