Microbiomes of mesopelagic fishes from the Northeast Atlantic
This study investigates the bacterial communities associated with mesopelagic fishes from the Northeast Atlantic, a major component of oceanic vertebrate biomass and carbon transfer in the deep sea. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we characterized microbiomes from gut, liver, and skin tissues to examine how tissue type and host ecological traits shape microbial composition, with a particular focus on bacterial genera that include bioluminescent species (159 samples, 60 specimens from 17 mesopelagic fish families).