Comparative analysis of gut microbiome of mangrove brachyuran crabs revealed patterns of phylosymbiosis and codiversification

The acquisition of microbial symbionts enables animals to rapidly adapt to and exploit novel ecological niches, thus significantly enhancing the evolutionary fitness and success of their hosts. However, the dynamics of host-microbe interactions and their evolutionary implications remain largely underexplored in marine invertebrates. Crabs of the family Sesarmidae (Crustacea: Brachyura) are dominate inhabitants of mangrove forests and considered as keystone species there. Their rapid diversification, particularly after adopting a plant-feeding lifestyle, is believed to have been facilitated by symbiotic gut microbes, enabling successful colonization of intertidal and terrestrial environments.
To investigate the patterns and mechanisms shaping the microbial communities and the role of microbes in the evolution of Sesarmidae, we characterized and compared the gut microbiome compositions across 43 crab species from Sesarmidae and other mangrove-associated families using 16S metabarcoding. W..., , , # Comparative analysis of gut microbiome of mangrove brachyuran crabs revealed patterns of phylosymbiosis and diversification

## Description of the data and file structure

This 16S metabarcoding data set contains a total of 441 sequenced gut samples from 224 individuals across 43 crab species (10.3 ± 6.5 sample/species). Each individual has a unique id in the data set and it gives information about the specimen.

For example, in **BRA12341F**:
**BRA1234** is the voucher code of that individual;
**1** means it is the first extracted individual under that voucher code (only ranging from 1 to 6);
**F** means the sameple originates from the hindgut of that individual (M = midgut, H = hindgut).

## Code/Software

All the codes and important intermediate files are available on https://github.com/ChandlerTsang/2024_Crab_Gut_Microbiome.