Characterisation of the Microbiome of a spatially-aggressive Peyssonnelid Algal Crust (PAC)

This study aimed to characterise the microbiomes in surface mucous from PAC and CCA (crustose coralline algae) from shallow reefs around St. John, US Virgin Islands. Using Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing, we analysed 16S rRNA amplicon libraries of biofilms associated with each algal crust. Using additional algal marker genes (large subunit [LSU] rRNA and psbA protein D1 gene [which comprises part of the reaction center of photosystem II]), we definitively identified the algal species comprising PAC aggressively overgrowing shallow reefs in St. John.