Marine nudibranchs biomes are diverse and considered to be precursor for many products if it was rightly approached. These changes may also have consequences on pigments and biomolecules production considering that molluscan ink is a key component. In this study, we describe the taxonomic diversity and metabolic functions of bacterial and fungal communities present in Kalinga ornata ink gland as an initiative. To accomplish this goal, we collected ink glands from K. ornata and employed a shotgun metagenomic approach to sequence the microbial DNA. Our metagenomic analyses revealed that the habitats shared both beneficial and opportunistic microbial species. Regarding the metabolic diversity, we found that genes pertaining to the metabolism of amino acids, fatty acids, and nucleotides as well as genes involved in secondary metabolism were enriched in forest soils. On the other hand, genes related to miscellaneous functions were next to the most abundant. These results suggest that the metabolic function of microbes found in this organism differs, though differences are not related to taxonomy. Finally, we propose that the implementation of environmentally friendly practices by the pharmaceutical and other industries may help to maintain the microbial diversity and ecosystem functions associated with natural habitats.

Key words: Marine nudibranch, metagenomics, microbiomes, ink gland.