The relationship between microbial community succession, decay, and anatomical character loss in non-biomineralized animals

A  fundamental assumption of hypothesis-driven decay experiments is that, during decay, the loss of anatomy follows a sequence broadly controlled by the intrinsic compositional properties of tissues. Recent work investigating the succession of postmortem endogenous microbial communities (thanatomicrobiome) challenges this assumption. These studies suggest the internal thanatomicrobiome exhibits a predictable succession in response to physical and chemical environmental changes that occur within a carcass. Therefore, it is possible that reproducible sequences of character loss during decay are controlled by thanatomicrobiome succession dynamics. If so, exceptionally preserved fossil anatomy would reflect a succession of ancient contemporaneous microbial communities, about which we know nothing, rendering decay experiments uninformative. Here, we investigate two questions: (1) what is the role of exogenous and endogenous bacteria during formation of the thanatomicrobiome and (2) do t..., , , # Data from: The relationship between microbial community succession, decay, and anatomical character loss in non-biomineralized animals

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.8931zcs07](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.8931zcs07)

7 Supplementary data files pertaining to: DNA extraction info and sample info (**1_DNA_extraction_info.xlsx**), Sample Naming conventions, Bacterial Diversity, Sample contamination, and DNA quantity and quality data (**2_OTUreads_QPCRvalues_Alpha_BetaDiversity.xlsx**), Amphioxus decay data (**3_Decay_experiment_data.xlsx**), PCoA analyses (**4_PCoA_data.xlsx**), Operational Taxonomic Unit raw data (**5_OTU_Raw_data.xlsx**), Operational Taxonomic Unit abundance per sample (**6_OTU_abundance_per_sample.xlsx**), Respiratory mode and major electron accepter data for Operational Taxonomic Units (**7_OTU_anerobic_vs_aerobic.xlsx**).

### Data and file structure

7 files organized as:

**1_DNA_extraction_info.xlsx**: DNA Extraction information.

**1.1. Extraction kit info** (...,