Copepod Calanus finmarchicus microbiome targeted loci environmental. crustacean metagenome

Copepods have long been recognized as discrete,nutrient-rich microhabitats on which marine bacteria assemble communities. Copepods offer an interesting, ecologically relevant context in which to consider host-microbiota interactions. However, the connection between host physiology, which can vary widely across individual copepods, and the structure of host-associated microbial communitiesis still not well understood. In this study, we linked variability in host physiology to differences in community composition in over one hundred individual copepods collected from Trondheimsfjord, Norway. We characterized their physiological states using a broad range of morphologicalcharacteristics and characterized the bacterial communities associated with individual copepodswith 16S sequencing.