DD lesion microbiota in feedlot cattle

To characterize the DD lesion microbiota of feedlot beef cattle, we performed deep amplicon sequencing on the V3V4 hyper-variable region of the 16S rRNA gene. Skin biopsies of lesions and healthy skin were collected. Skin was cleaned with water, and lesion stages were scored prior to biopsy collection. DNA was extracted from biopsies after tissue lysis with proteinase K. A combination of lysozyme, bead beating, and the Qiagen DNeasy Blood and Tissue kit was used for DNA extraction. Sequencing was performed on the V3V4 hyper-variable region with the Illumina MiSeq system.