Octopus skin and mantle cavity wall mucus microbial diversity

Growing knowledge of the host-microbiota has shown the prevalence of sex-specific differences in the microbiome. However, there are virtually no studies assessing sex-associated variation in the microbiome of cephalopods. Here we assess sex-specific variation in the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) skin microbiome using 16S amplicon sequencing targeting the V4 region. Skin and mantle-associated mucus was collected from wild adult individuals from common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris) (9 males and 7 females of similar size). This is a first attempt to characterize cephalopod skin microbiota and determine sex influence on it.