Host genome depletion and the microbiome of coral mucus and tissues

Accurate characterisation of microbial communities

Metagenomic sequencing analyses the total DNA from a given sample, therefore overcoming the challenges of previous sequencing approaches that rely on target-specific primers. However, host-derived samples have high amounts of host DNA that overwhelm any microbial DNA during sequencing, making it difficult to accurately characterise these microbial communities. Existing host depletion methods to enrich microbial DNA are time-consuming and expensive.

Novel host genome depletion method

The Host genome depletion and the microbiome of coral mucus and tissues project aims to optimise a novel host genome depletion method, which will be applied to coral samples in an attempt to reduce the costs of next-generation sequencing and improve data quality. The resulting protocol will not only help us better elucidate the community structure and function of the coral microbiome but will provide a technique to better characterise microbial communities in other organisms.