Project:

Metagenomic analysis of coelomic fluid and gut microbiomes of the sea star, Patiria miniata.

Students:

kunga Sangpo, Dawa Tsering

Institution:

LaGuardia Community College, Queens

Mentors:

Thomas Onorato

Abstract:

Sea star wasting disease (SSWD) is killing off large numbers of animals from multiple species of sea stars on the North American Pacific coast and appears to be different from earlier outbreaks. While a sea star-associated densovirus (SSaDV) has been identified as a likely infectious agent, much remains unknown regarding the roles other microbes may have in SSWD and about the composition of microbiomes from asymptomatic sea stars. We utilized next-generation sequencing to analyze the biodiversity of the coelomic fluid and pyloric caeca (gut) prokaryotic microbiomes of the sea star, Patiria miniata. Herein we report the family of bacteria that is a main constituent of the pyloric caeca (gut) microbiome in P. miniata.

Poster:

Team samples: