For the DNA extraction, we used the ZR Fecal DNA MiniPrep kit. The first step in the extraction was to add one hundred and fifty mg of the fecal sample and seven hundred and fifty μl of Lysis Solution into a ZR BashingBead™ Lysis Tube. This step helps soften the feces and allows the DNA to be separated into a different tube. Next, we placed the sample into a bead beater at maximum speed for five minutes. This step separated the fecal liquid from the fecal paste. The liquid is what contains the DNA. Then we centrifuged the ZR BashingBead™ Lysis Tube at ten thousand x g for one minute. We then transferred four hundred μl of the centrifuged product into a Zymo-Spin™ IV Spin Filter Collection Tube and centrifuged the product at seven thousand rpms. This process helps with purifying the DNA into a cleaner substance. Our next step was to add one thousand two hundred μl of Fecal DNA Binding Buffer to the filtered product in the Collection Tube. Once the buffer was added, we then transferred eight hundred μl of the mix into a Zymo-Spin™ IIC Column and centrifuged the DNA for one minute at ten thousand x g. We then added two hundred μl of DNA Pre-Wash Buffer to the Zymo-Spin™ IIC Column in a new Collection Tube and centrifuged this at ten thousand x g for one minute. Once this step was completed, we then added five hundred μl of Fecal DNA Wash Buffer to the Zymo-Spin™ IIC Column and centrifuged this at ten thousand x g for one minute. Once this processes had finished we transferred the Zymo-Spin™ IIC Column to a clean one point five ml microcentrifuge tube and added one hundred μl (twenty five μl minimum) DNA and centrifuged this for thirty seconds to elute the DNA. Our final step was to transfer the eluted DNA from the previous step to a prepared Zymo-Spin™ IV-HRC Spin Filter in a clean one point five ml microcentrifuge tube and centrifuge at exactly eight thousand x g for one minute. The filtered DNA was then ready for PCR.