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Over 90% of introduced marine species are seaweeds. Seaweeds rely on their microbiome for host settlement, nutrition, development and health. As such, it is likely that microbiomes are involved in seaweed invasions. Sargassum muticum, indigenous to Southeast Asia, inhabits the North-east Atlantic from Norway to Morocco. This is the only known successful case of a non-clonal marine invader with almost no genetic variation over its large NE Atlantic introduced range. This makes it a very interesting model to study an invasive seaweeds microbiome, as it practically uncouples host genetic variation from microbiome variation. Associated bacteria potentially contribute to the plasticity and acclimation of S. muticum leading to its success over the last 50 years. Dispersing host organisms can either bring their acquired microbes along or obtain new ones locally, following the mutualist and generalist host hypothesis, respectively. We used partial 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to characterize the total and core microbiome across S. muticum structures/tissues from five NE Atlantic regions, from Norway to Morocco, covering over 30° of latitude. In contrast to host genotypes, highly diverse, regional, total and core microbiomes, with differentiation levels depending on tissue, bacterial community structure were detected. Atlantic S. muticum follows the generalist host hypothesis, possibly recruiting a new microbiome in each new region. This host promiscuity may promote the invasiveness of S. muticum. Diversity was lower in the young/annual tissues compared with the older tissues for the total bacterial community, suggesting that these are mostly transitory bacteria accumulating over time in the older parts. The total core microbiome included 10 OTUs, representing dominant community members commonly found in other seaweeds' cores. The core Granulosicoccus OTU followed a clear regional pattern where northern and southern regions clustered differentially, suggesting a regional signature even at an OTU level. North-east (NE) Atlantic Sargassum muticum microbiome differentiation does not match host genetic background. NE Atlantic S. muticum shows a geographic region and tissue-specific total and core bacterial community matching bestthe generalist host hypothesis. Core OTU – the bacterium Granulosicoccus – shows a strong regional specialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undaria pinnatifida, a kelp species native to East Asia, has become cosmopolitan and drawn increasing attention due to its worldwide spread in recent decades. Floating fragments of this alga were found washed ashore on Sylt in 2016, the first record of this species in Germany. Thalli attached to local oyster reefs were detected in 2017. The genetic relationship between the floating and attached thalli on Sylt, as well as their relevance to the populations from northern Europe and native regions, was hitherto unknown. Here, 10 microsatellite markers were used to assess relationships between the recently established population on Sylt and five other northern European populations in France (Brittany, West English Channel), the Netherlands and England (Plymouth, West English Channel) plus three natural populations in China. Almost no genetic differentiation was detected between the floating and attached populations on Sylt, but they were genetically distinct from all the other studied northern European populations. The very low genetic diversity revealed in the new founder populations of Sylt suggests that they came from genetically similar parents. The marked reduction in both the number of alleles and heterozygosity in the northern European populations, as compared with the Chinese ones, is typical of founder effects in recently populated regions. Prominent genetic divergence was found between most of the northern European populations except those within Brittany and Sylt. Further studies will focus on identifying the putative source populations that might be found on shellfish farms, in local marinas or the benthic habitats around Sylt Island. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]