Copepod gut bacteria Raw sequence reads

Guts from copepods collected during the seasonal cycle over two years at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Station were analyzed using Illumina high-throughput sequencing targeting the 16S rRNA V3-V4 region in order to determine seasonal bacterial community shifts. This study shows that a distinct bacterial community is present in the copepod gut, separate from the surrounding seawater and exterior of the animal. The core and transient members of the copepod gut micro- biome has potential implications for how we interpret traditional food chains and the microbial loop.