Investigating Microbial Community Composition in Mountain Mullet (Agonostomus monticola)
Faculty Mentor
Jenifer Walke
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
4-14-2026 2:00 PM
End Date
4-14-2026 4:00 PM
Location
PUB NCR
Primary Discipline of Presentation
Biology
Abstract
Mountain Mullet (Agonostomus monticola) is a fish on the island of Montserrat in the Lesser Antilles, where research is less prevalent than on other islands. We examined the skin microbiome diversity of Mountain Mullet and evaluated how host genetics and environmental factors, such as waterborne microbes, influence these metrics. We hypothesized that there is a significant correlation between the skin microbiome diversity and richness of the mountain mullet and their environment and host factors. We used a seining net to collect five fish from the mouth of the Belham River, swabbed for the skin microbiome, and took a fin clip for host genetics. We also took three water samples each from the mouth of the Belham River and from a secluded ghaut with landlocked mullet. We extracted DNA and amplified it with PCR (16S rRNA gene for microbial DNA and 12S rRNA gene for fish DNA). The compositions of the water microbiome and the mullet microbiome had some overlap, but were significantly different from each other (Unweighted Unifrac Distance and Bray-Curtis, p=0.002), indicating that the host is not simply a reflection of the environmental microbial pool and host factors have an influence on the microbiome. Water samples had significantly more bacterial taxonomic diversity compared to mullet skin samples (Faith’s Phylogenetic Diversity, p=0.006), indicating that the mullet skin microbiome selects its composition from the environment. Our results support our hypothesis of host and environmental factors playing an important role in forming the skin microbiome of the mullet.
Recommended Citation
Sides, Cooper and Matheny, Jeremiah, "Investigating Microbial Community Composition in Mountain Mullet (Agonostomus monticola)" (2026). 2026 Symposium. 2.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2026/ps_2026/p3_2026/2
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Investigating Microbial Community Composition in Mountain Mullet (Agonostomus monticola)
PUB NCR
Mountain Mullet (Agonostomus monticola) is a fish on the island of Montserrat in the Lesser Antilles, where research is less prevalent than on other islands. We examined the skin microbiome diversity of Mountain Mullet and evaluated how host genetics and environmental factors, such as waterborne microbes, influence these metrics. We hypothesized that there is a significant correlation between the skin microbiome diversity and richness of the mountain mullet and their environment and host factors. We used a seining net to collect five fish from the mouth of the Belham River, swabbed for the skin microbiome, and took a fin clip for host genetics. We also took three water samples each from the mouth of the Belham River and from a secluded ghaut with landlocked mullet. We extracted DNA and amplified it with PCR (16S rRNA gene for microbial DNA and 12S rRNA gene for fish DNA). The compositions of the water microbiome and the mullet microbiome had some overlap, but were significantly different from each other (Unweighted Unifrac Distance and Bray-Curtis, p=0.002), indicating that the host is not simply a reflection of the environmental microbial pool and host factors have an influence on the microbiome. Water samples had significantly more bacterial taxonomic diversity compared to mullet skin samples (Faith’s Phylogenetic Diversity, p=0.006), indicating that the mullet skin microbiome selects its composition from the environment. Our results support our hypothesis of host and environmental factors playing an important role in forming the skin microbiome of the mullet.
