Limited similarity in microbial composition among coral reef fishes from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

ABSTRACT: Reef fishes exhibit enormous biodiversity within a highly interactive ecosystem. Relatively little is known about the diversity and evolution of microbial species associated with reef fish, even though this may provide valuable insights into the factors that shape microbial communities. Through metatranscriptomic sequencing, we characterized the viruses, bacteria, and single-celled eukaryotes from 126 reef fish species inhabiting Lizard Island and Orpheus Island on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. We assessed whether microbial communities differed between islands that are separated by 450 km, and to what extent fish viruses emerge in new hosts. Despite strong ecological interactions within the species-rich reef environment, and the presence of the same families of viruses on both islands

SUBMITTER: Costa VA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11879539 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature