Which sequencing technology is used?

We utilize a sequencing technique called 16s rRNA sequencing. Using PCR, we sequence the v4 region of the 16s gene found in bacteria. The DNA sequences are then matched against a curated bacterial database containing millions of DNA sequences. We are able to identify most bacterial organisms at the Phylum level and on average around 60% of organisms are identified down to bacterial species level. Typically no more than 2% of organisms remain unclassified at the Genus level. It is not possible to reliably determine the strain using 16s sequencing.