Microbiome of the marine sponge Halichondria cebimarensis with culture-dependent and -independent methods

There are five endemic species of the genus Halichondria on the Brazilian coast and H. cebimarensis is one of the least studied. This sponge has a very limited geographic distribution and is classified as vulnerable. In order to understand the bacterial and archaeal communities associated with this sponge, samples of H. cebimarensis were collected from the southwestern Atlantic coast (Brazil, Sao Paulo state). Choanoderm samples were processed and cultivated using three different media and investigated by transmission electron microscopy and 16S rRNA metabarcoding.