Tardigrade microbiome

Symbiotic associations of metazoans with bacteria strongly influence animal biology, they are ubiquitous and virtually no animal is completely free from bacteria. Tardigrades are micrometazoans famous for their ability to undergo ametabolic states (cryptobiosis) but very scarce information are available on their microbial associations. The aim of this project was the characterization the tardigrade microbiomes thought 16s rRNA metabarcoding of six limnoterrestrial tardigrade species belonging to several phylogenetic lines in tandem with their respective substrates. Tardigrade microbiomes were compared between different species and between animals and their substrate to identify what are the effect of the genotype an environment on the microbial community. This project was also aimed to identify potential tardigrades endosymbionts. This was the first microbiome characterization of wild tardigrades.