Dataset: NCBI Metagenomic metadata for Lau Basin (Tonga) mollusc gill tissue collected on R/V Thompson cruises TN235 and TN401 and R/V Falkor cruise FK160407 between May 2009 and Apr 2022

Samples were collected between May 2009 to April 2022 aboard R/V Thompson cruises TN235 (May-June 2009) and TN401 (April 2016) and R/V Falkor cruise FK160407 (April 2022).

Mollusc samples were collected with remotely operated vehicles from hydrothermal vent fields along the Eastern Lau Spreading Center-Valu Fa Ridge and Tonga Volcanic Arc. On board the ship, the symbiont-containing gill tissue of each animal was excised and either flash-frozen or stored in RNALater™ (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Waltham, MA, USA) at –80°C. DNA was extracted with the E.Z.N.A Mollusc DNA Kit (Omega Bio-tek, Norcross, GA) at the University of Rhode Island and sent to Psomagen, Inc. (Rockville, MD, USA) for metagenomic library preparation and sequencing. Libraries were prepared with the plexWell384 and Twist 96-Plex kits and 150 bp paired-end sequenced on Illumina NovaSeq 6000 and NovaSeq X Plus instruments.