Microbiome Variability across the Native and Invasive Ranges of the Ascidian Clavelina oblonga.

Ascidians are prolific colonizers of new environments and possess a range of well-studied features that contribute to their successful spread, but the role of their symbiotic microbial communities in their long-term establishment is mostly unknown. In this study, we utilized next-generation amplicon sequencing to provide a comprehensive description of the microbiome in the colonial ascidian and examined differences in the composition, diversity, and structure of symbiont communities in the host's native and invasive ranges. To identify host haplotypes, we sequenced a fragment of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI).