The digestive tract sections of the sea cucumber Isostichopus badionotus reveal differences in composition, diversity, and functionality of the gut microbiota.

For the first time, this study analyses the composition and diversity of the gut microbiota of Isostichopus badionotus in captivity, using high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing, and predicts the metagenomic functions of the microbiota. The results revealed a different composition of the gut microbiota for the foregut (FG) and midgut (MG) compared to the hindgut (HG), with a predominance of Proteobacteria, followed by Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes. The FG and MG demonstrated a greater bacterial diversity compared to the HG.

Evaluation of two independent protocols for the extraction of DNA and RNA from different tissues of sea cucumber .

is a sea cucumber species of great ecological and economic relevance for Mexico and Central American and Caribbean countries; however, the protocols for the extraction of the nucleic acids have not yet been published. In this study, we describe the first protocols to obtain DNA and RNA from different tissues of which include the respiratory tree, gonad, longitudinal muscle bands, anterior intestine and cloaca. The extraction of high-quality DNA was performed using the DNeasy Blood & Tissue kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA, USA) with minor modifications in different points of the protocol.