Summary Different cold‐water coral (CWC) species harbour distinct microbial communities and the community composition is thought to be linked to the ecological strategies of the host. Here we test whether diet shapes the composition of bacterial communities associated with CWC. We compared the microbiomes of two common CWC species in aquaria, Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata , when they were either starved, or fed respec...

The description of a rare biosphere within microbial communities has created great interest because microbes play a fundamental role in the functioning of all ecosystems on earth. Despite recent progress in understanding the ecology of the rare biosphere, the concept itself is still discussed, and fundamental questions remain. Here, we target the seed bank compartment of the rare biosphere, assess the level of rarity at which...