Phylogenetic signal in the community structure of host-specific microbiomes of tropical marine sponges.

ABSTRACT: Sponges (Porifera) can host diverse and abundant communities of microbial symbionts that make crucial contributions to host metabolism. Although these communities are often host-specific and hypothesized to co-evolve with their hosts, correlations between host phylogeny and microbiome community structure are rarely tested. As part of the Earth Microbiome Project (EMP), we surveyed the microbiomes associated with 20 species of tropical marine sponges collected over a narrow geographic range. We tested whether (1) univariate metrics of microbiome diversity displayed significant phylogenetic signal across the host phylogeny; (2) host identity and host phylogeny were significant factors in multivariate analyses of taxonomic and phylogenetic dissimilarity; and (3) different minimum read thresho

SUBMITTER: Easson CG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4201110 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature