Hemolymph and hepatopancreas microbiomes of Biomphalaria glabrata snails during schistosome infection

We characterized the microbiomes of the hemolymph (blood) and hepatopancreas of Biomphalaria glabrata snails infected with Schistosoma mansoni parasites (blood fluke). We maintained populations of B. glabrata both exposed and unexposed to the parasite (two replicated trays per condition) and sampled 6-8 individuals weekly (terminal procedure), alongside sampling the water environment. We sequenced the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene for each sample. This microbiome analysis over the course of infection may reveal specific impacts of parasitism on the host microbiome. Analyzing individual tissues and organs could reveal specific trends in each sample type, in contrast to the whole-snail microbiome analyses typically conducted in this field.