Image_1_Host Differentiation and Compartmentalization of Microbial Communities in the Azooxanthellate Cupcorals Tubastrea coccinea and Rhizopsammia goesi in the Caribbean.JPEG

We investigated the microbial communities associated with surface mucus layer, tissue, and gastrovascular cavity of two azooxanthellate Caribbean cup corals (Tubastrea coccinea and Rhizopsammia goesi) to explore potential differences in microbial community composition within and among these azooxanthellate scleractinian corals. Using next-generation sequencing of the V3–V6 region of the 16S rRNA gene we found that while alpha-diversity was overall very similar, the relative abundance of microbial taxa differed between host species and among locations within a polyp (i.e., compartments). The in... Mehr ...