Metagenomic analysis of small circular DNA associated with Caribbean octocorals

Octocorals host a diverse eukaryotic and prokaryotic microbiome. These organisms play important roles in the octocoral such as nutrient cycling and disease prevention. While the taxonomic diversity of the microbiomes of octocorals belonging to the genera Antillogorgia and Erythropodium have been studied, little is known about the functional role of the prokaryotic microbiome in these corals. To provide insight into the potential functional roles of the microbiome in octocoral biology we isolated circular DNA from the metagenome of three octocoral species A. elisabethae, A. bipinnata and E. caribeaorum. After isolation, circular DNA was amplified by multiple displacement amplification using phi29 polymerase and sequenced using Illumina HiSeq 4000 technology using a paired-end 100 bp library. This study will explore the functional role of the octocoral microbiome by analyzing the gene content of circular DNA such as plasmids, in the octocoral metagenome.