Sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene from human pancreatic tissue

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the third leading cause of cancerdeath in the United States yet data are scant regarding the host factors that influence pancreatic carcinogenesis. Increasing evidence support the role of the host microbiota in carcinogenesis but its role in PDAC is not well established. Here, we performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing on bacterial genomic DNA isolated from sterile, surgically resected human pancreas samples pathologically confirmed as normal (n=7), pancreatitis (n=4), or PDAC (n=16). We show that these pancreata, including non-PDACspecimens, harbor a microbiota that was not from external contamination.