Blocking primers reduce co-amplification of plant DNA when studying bacterial endophyte communities

blocking primer set based on the technique described by Vestheim and Jarman (2008) was developed to reduce amplification of non-target plant DNA when conducting metagenomic studies on bacterial endophyte communities. Bacterial amplification efficiency was increased 300-fold compared to standard PCR in an Illumina-based study of Sorghastrum nutans leaves. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.