Microbes' Microbiomes: characterization of prokaryotic microbiomes of single-celled protists

Prokaryotic microbiomes of many model organisms, including humans, are being intensely researched. Little is known on the microbes associated with most non-model eukaryotic organisms, although recent studies suggest that virtually all metazoans and plants possess a complex and functionally important microbiome. Many descriptions of bacteria harbored by unicellular eukaryotes (protists) also exist, hinting at the possibility that these organisms might possess a true microbiome too. We are investigating this possibility applying the same approaches and techniques that would be used on metazoans (i.e., high-throughput sequencing of the SSU rRNA gene) to relatively large ciliate protists. To provide a background, we are characterizing the microbiome (both eukaryotic and prokaryotic) of the environment surrounding the specimens.