Antillogorgia elisabethae Targeted Locus (Loci)

Antillogorgia elisabethae (previously classified as Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae) is a common branching octocoral in Caribbean reef ecosystems. A. elisabethae is a rich source of anti-inflammatory diterpenes, thus this octocoral has been the subject of numerous natural product investigations, yet relatively little is known regarding the composition, diversity and geographic and temporal stability of its microbiome. To characterize the composition, diversity and stability of bacterial communities of Bahamian A. elisabethae populations, 17 A. elisabethae samples from five sites within the Bahamas were characterized by 16S rDNA pyrosequencing. The goal of this study was to determine the geographic stability of A. elisabethae microbial communities and to determine if this important octocoral species hosts a stable core microbiome. This research sets the stage for further studies to determine factors which drive microbiome dynamics in this ecologically and economically important octocoral.