Even the smallest marine invertebrates — some barely larger than single-celled protists — are home to distinct and diverse microbial communities, or microbiomes, according to new research from University of British Columbia (UBC) biologists.
The study underscores that a vast diversity of animals have microbiomes, just as humans do. But more surprisingly, there’s little correlation between how closely related most animals are and how similar their microbiomes are — something widely assumed to be true based on the study of humans, larger mammals, and insects.