16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of bos taurus fecal sample co-extracted with a moch community

Since the emergence of second generation sequencing technologies, metataxonomy has become the current standard for investigating microbial diversity. The inclusion of mock communities (MC) in the experimental design have been suggested as positive controls for the monitoring of pipelines, but precise information regarding their usage is limited. Three standardized fecal samples with either high or low biomass content were co-extracted with high or low doses of MC and investigated using metataxonomic data analysis pipelines. To gain a better understanding of the effect of in situ positive control type and quantity on standard microbiota diversity/dissimilarity indices, we addressed the following questions: a) does the mock community influence the community composition and diversity of microorganisms in fecal samples (within- and between- sample diversity); b) does the influence of the mock community depend on the ratio of MC dosage/biomass content.