I've tried a few kit/ swab combinations in the lab, including those suggested by the Human Microbiome Project but have got very disappointing yields. Im looking for tried and tested combinations which have yielded good levels of bacterial DNA  for microbiome sequencing (obviously aware a vast proportion of DNA extracted is likely to be human so also if there is a way to enrich the bacterial DNA component without biasing the community composition) and any hints/ tips that could explain why the yield is low, for example the swabbing technique.

Thanks very much

Alison