See the publications above (in the dataset description) for detailed methodology.
For accession numbers JX873274 - JX873955, refer to Bernhard et al. 2013 and Edgcomb et al. 2013, ISME Journal.
For accession number KC790540, refer to Bernhard et al. 2013.
For accession numbers JX872558 - JX873273, SRA061992 and SRA061825, refer to Edgcomb et al. 2013, ISME Journal.
For accession numbers JX255738 - JX255917 and JX504252 - JX504530, refer to Edgcomb et al. 2013, Geobiology.
Brief summary of methods:
Samples were collected from Highborne Cay, Bahamas in March 2010 and from Hamelin Pool, Australia in June 2011. Microbialite mat types at Highborne Cay were designated according to Reid et al. (2000) and Myshrall et al. (2010). Microbialites at Hamelin Pool were classified following Jahnert and Collins (2011) and Logan (1961). The water column in the vicinity of the microbialite mats was also sampled. Water column measurments included temperature, salinity, and ligh intensity. Microbialite samples were obtained using syringe cores (refer to publications for sizes and depths).
RNA was extracted from preserved samples, reverse transcribed, and PCR amplified. PCR products were purified and foraminiferal PCR products were cloned for Sanger sequencing. Sequences were clustered into operational taxonomic units (OTUs). JAguc (Nebel et al. 2011) was used to assign taxonomy of OTU representatives. Again, refer to publications above for detailed methodology, statistical analyses, and results.