Exploring Microbial Diversity and Functional Potential along the Bay of Bengal Coastline in Bangladesh: Insights from Amplicon Sequencing and Shotgun Metagenomics

Abstract

Although the Bay of Bengal (BoB) is the worlds largest bay, possessing distinct physiochemical properties, it has garnered little research focus concerning its microbial diversity and ecological importance. Here, we present amplicon (16S and 18S) profiling and shotgun metagenomics data regarding microbial communities from BoBs eastern coast, viz., Saint Martin and Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh. From the 16S sequencing data, Proteobacteria appeared to be the dominant phylum in both locations, with Alteromonas, Methylophaga, Anaerospora, Marivita, and Vibrio dominating in Coxs Bazar and Pseudoalteromonas, Nautella, Marinomonas, Vibrio, and Alteromonas dominating the Saint Martin site. From the 18S sequencing data, Ochrophyta, Chlorophyta, and Protalveolata appeared among the most abundant eukaryotic divisions in both locations, with significantly higher abundance of Choanoflagellida, Florideophycidae, and Dinoflagellata in Coxs Bazar. Functional annotations revealed that the microbial communities in these samples harbor genes for biofilm formation, quorum sensing, xenobiotics degradation, antimicrobial resistance, and a variety of other processes. Together, these results provide the first molecular insight into the functional and phylogenetic diversity of microbes along the BoB coast of Bangladesh and lay the foundation for further in-depth assessment of microbial community dynamics and functional potential in the context of global change in this region.