In this study, xTitan, a field-deployable, automated, and versatile nucleic acid extraction system was employed to characterize microbial communities in Red Sea-derived samples, including coral colonies, mangrove sediments, and seawater. The use of the xTitan in the field was intended to minimize sample transport bias, obtaining data that may be closer to “ground truth” for microbial diversity. The observed microbial communities from DNA extracted in the field using the xTitan system were compared to DNA extractions performed in a laboratory setting using both xTitan and a commercial Qiagen kit after approximately 24 h of samples transfer and storage.