The Gills of Reef Fish Support a Distinct Microbiome Influenced by Host-Specific Factors.

ABSTRACT: Teleost fish represent the most diverse of the vertebrate groups and play important roles in food webs, as ecosystem engineers, and as vectors for microorganisms. However, the microbial ecology of fishes remains underexplored for most host taxa and for certain niches on the fish body. This is particularly true for the gills, the key sites of respiration and waste exchange in fishes. Here we provide a comprehensive analysis of the gill microbiome. We focus on ecologically diverse taxa from coral reefs around Moorea, sampling the gills and intestines of adults and juveniles representing 15 families. The gill microbiome composition differed significantly from that of the gut for both adults and juveniles, with fish-associated niches having lower alpha diversity values and higher beta diversit

SUBMITTER: Pratte ZA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5930318 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature