SSU rDNA microbial profile of Arctocephalus forsteri (New Zealand fur seal) brain
Genomic DNA was extracted from 25 mg of brain tissue from each animal using the Bioline Isolate II Genomic DNA kit (Bioline, Australia). The SSU rDNA assays applied were based on the primer pair Euk1391F (GTA CAC ACC GCC CGT C) and EukBR (TGA TCC TTC TGC AGG TTC ACC TAC) amplifying approximately 200 bp of the 3′ end of the eukaryotic SSU rDNA (V9 hypervariable regions). Amplification and Illumina sequencing was performed at the Australian Genomic Research Facility (AGRF), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (assay Euk319/EukBR). The barcoded PCR amplicons were pooled and sequenced on the Illumina MiSeq platform, utilising Illumina’s Nextera XT v2 Indices and Paired End sequencing chemistry (AGRF, Queensland, Australia).