The files in this data release are the raw deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence files referenced in the submitted journal article by Christina A. Kellogg, Dawn B. Goldsmith and Michael A. Gray entitled "Biogeographic comparison of Lophelia-associated bacterial communities in the western Atlantic reveals conserved core microbiome". They represent a 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene amplicon survey of the coral’s microbiomes completed using Roche 454 pyrosequencing with Titanium series reagents. Samples from the Gulf of Mexico were collected in 2009 and 2010. Samples from the Atlantic Ocean were collected in 2009. The raw data files associated with this study have also been submitted to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Sequence Read Archive (SRA) under Bioproject number PRJNA305617. Minimum information about a marker gene (MIMARKS) compliant metadata is provided in "Lophelia metadata", which is included in the data download file. For more information, please contact Christina Kellogg at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, 600 4th Street South, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA, 33701; Telephone: (727) 502-8128; email: ckellogg@usgs.gov.