Description |
In 2009, three unique colonies of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa were sampled in the western Atlantic Ocean to examine their microbial metagenomes. Nine additional samples were collected from three sites (Viosca Knoll 826, Viosca Knoll 906, and West Florida Slope) around the Gulf of Mexico in 2009 and 2010. Previous studies have examined the bacterial associates of this coral, but to date, no cold-water coral metagenomes have been published. This analysis characterized and identified microbial associates (bacteria, archaea, eukaryotes, viruses) associated with Lophelia, and also provided a first look at the functional and metabolic capabilities of the Lophelia microbial metagenome. Replicate sampling allowed for supplemental analysis of the variation in metagenomes between individual coral samples and among the four collection sites. [More]
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