Chinook salmon intestinal microbiome 16S survey

This project aimed to survey the intestinal bacteria of adult Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) aquacultured in New Zealand. The microbiota of 30 salmon from a single cohort was characterised using 16S sequencing of the V3-V4 hypervariable region. Seawater, feed, intestinal samples, and controls were sequenced in quadruplicate to assess both biological and technical variation in the microbial profiles. This survey was performed amid a summer heat wave, during which the fish became stressed and exhibited reduced feeding. Although the sampled fish appeared healthy, they had minimal intestinal content, and the observed intestinal flora may represent the microbiota of fasting and stressed fish.