PROTOCOL

16S rRNA-based, reverse-capture oligonucleotide probes (typically 18 to 20 bases) are synthesized. Probes are printed on aldehyde-coated glass slides. 16S rRNA genes are PCR amplified from DNA extracts using 16S rRNA universal forward and reverse primers and
labeled via incorporation of Cy3-dCTP in a second nested PCR. The microarray slides are scanned using an Axon 4000B scanner and crude data is extracted using GenePix Pro software. Registered users will be able to analyze their data online to generate microbial profile maps, cluster analyses and other comparative analyses.