Fig. 3 Comparison of whole-genome and 16S identification at a) genus and b) species levels
We generated whole genome and 16S data from the ZymoBIOMICS Microbial Community DNA Standard and compared the number of calls from the WIMP and 16S workflows at the genus (Fig. 3a) and species (Fig. 3b) levels. As expected for a quantitative workflow, the gDNA WIMP calls agree well with the theoretical levels. The identity calls from the 16S data correlate closely with those from the gDNA data, particularly at genus level, but the correct abundance of genera and species is not reflected in the 16S data, possibly due to PCR bias. This is most noticeable for Pseudomonas, to which our 16S primers had mismatches. At species level, the 16S data reveals some false positive calls, reflecting the similarity of the 16S sequences of some genera.
Download the PDF