Diversity and composition of sponge-associated microbiomes from Korean sponges revealed by full-length 16S rRNA analysis.

ABSTRACT: Marine sponges host diverse and specialized microbial communities that serve essential functions in nutrient cycling, ecosystem stability, and biotechnological applications. This study investigates the diversity and composition of sponge-associated microbiomes from eight sponge species collected in Chuksan Harbor, South Korea, using full-length 16S rRNA sequencing and amplicon sequence variant (ASV)-based methods. Our results demonstrate that each sponge species harbors distinct and highly structured microbial communities. Proteobacteria, and especially Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria, were generally dominant; however, unique dominance patterns, such as the near-exclusive presence of an uncharacterized Gammaproteobacterial lineage in Cliona celata, suggest strong host-symbiont specificity a

SUBMITTER: Shin MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12357920 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature