Microbiome of velvet swimming crab

Crustaceans are a valuable resource globally both ecologically and economically and investigations into their health grow more important as exploitation increases. The microbiome plays an important role in crustacean immunity and understanding the composition and structure can give insight into the health of an organism and its interactions with host and environmental factors. In this study we investigated the hepatopancreas microbiome of the velvet swimming crab, Necora puber and compared the composition and structure with several study factors including between two different sampling points and crab infected and uninfected with a paramyxid parasite Paramarteilia canceri. To our knowledge, we provide the first description of a velvet crab microbiome highlighting stability with majority of samples dominated by a single genus, Candidatus hepatoplasma. We have also identified a core microbiome present in the hepatopancreas and discuss the possible processes affecting their assembly. This study provides a baseline for future investigations into velvet crab microbiome and its health.