The spiny lobster Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804) is currently affected by an unenveloped, icosahedral, DNA virus</p><p>termed Panulirus argus virus 1 (PaV1), a pathogenic and mortal virus that produces a long-lasting infection that alters</p><p>the physiology and behavior of heavily infected lobsters. In crustaceans, the gut-associated microbiota is crucial for</p><p>their homeostasis and well-being, but pathogens could change the composition of the gut-associated microbiota</p><p>affecting its function. In PaV1 infection, the changes of gut-associated microbiota are yet to be elucidated. In the</p><p>present study, we used high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing technology to compare the bacterial microbiota of</p><p>intestines of healthy and heavily PaV1-infected male and female juveniles of P. argus captured in Puerto Morelos Reef</p><p>lagoon, Quintana Roo, Mexico. We found that basal gut-associated microbiota composition showed a sex dependent</p><p>bias, with females being enriched in Sphingomonas, while males were enriched in Candidatus Hepatoplasma and</p><p>Aliiroseovarius genera. Moreover, the alpha diversity of microbiota decreased in PaV1-infected lobsters. A significant</p><p>increase of Candidatus Bacilloplasma and Vibrio was observed in infected lobsters, as well as a significant decrease in</p><p>Nesterenkonia, Caldalkalibacillus, Vibrio, Pseudomonas, Cetobacterium and Phylobacterium. However, alterations in</p><p>the microbiota showed a sex-biased effect. Results from this study suggest that PaV1 infection impacts intestinal</p><p>microbiota composition in P. argus in a sex-dependent manner.
