Cane toad skin microbiomes, repeated samples over shedding

We resampled cane toads over time to describe changes in community composition after shedding. Seven toads were sampled 5-6 times each, with the first sample representing the previous intershed interval, and the remaining samples collected within the first 38 hours after shedding. The regular skin shedding cycle of amphibians removes a large portion of skin bacteria, which then recolonizes and regrows until the next shed. We used these data to identify whether shedding also reduces bacterial diversity alongside the reduction in bacterial load, and describe bacterial community changes over the short period of time post-shed. Toads were raised at Middle Point in semi-natural enclosures, but were kept indoors at room temperature during the sampling. Samples were skin swabs of non-overlapping 31x31 mm squares of the dorsal and ventral sides of the toad. DNA was extracted with Norgen's Microbiome Kit. Fastq data are of bacterial 16S rRNA gene amplicons with the EMP 515F/806R primers, sequenced on Illumina MiSeq at Ramaciotti Centre for Genomics.