16S rRNA sequencing reveals likely beneficial core microbes within faecal samples of the EU protected slug Geomalacus maculosus.

ABSTRACT: The EU-protected slug Geomalacus maculosus Allman occurs only in the West of Ireland and in northern Spain and Portugal. We explored the microbial community found within the faeces of Irish specimens with a view to determining whether a core microbiome existed among geographically isolated slugs which could give insight into the adaptations of G. maculosus to the available food resources within its habitat. Faecal samples of 30 wild specimens were collected throughout its Irish range and the V3 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene was sequenced using Illumina MiSeq. To investigate the influence of diet on the microbial composition, faecal samples were taken and sequenced from six laboratory reared slugs which were raised on two different foods. We found a widely diverse microbiome dominat

SUBMITTER: Reich I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6039444 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature