Distinct microbial communities in an ascidian-crustacean symbiosis.

Ascidians are marine invertebrates known to occasionally host symbiotic crustaceans. Although the microbiomes of both ascidians and free-living crustaceans have been characterized, there is no documentation of microbial communities in an ascidian-crustacean symbiosis. Samples of the solitary ascidian Ascidia sydneiensis and ambient seawater were collected in Belize.