Mature biofilm communities on synthetic polymers in seawater - Specific or general?


Contact
antje.wichels [ at ] awi.de

Abstract

To understand the ecological impacts of the “Plastisphere”, those microbes need to be identified that preferentially colonize and interact with synthetic polymer surfaces, as opposed to general surface colonizers. It was hypothesized that the microbial biofilm composition varies distinctly between different substrates. A long-term incubation experiment was conducted (15month) with nine different synthetic polymer films as substrate as well as glass using a natural seawater flow-through system. To identify colonizing microorganisms, 16S and 18SrRNA gene tag sequencing was performed. The microbial biofilms of these diverse artificial surfaces were visualized via scanning electron microscopy. Biofilm communities attached to synthetic polymers are distinct from glass associated biofilms; apparently a more general marine biofilm core community serves as shared core among all synthetic polymers rather than a specific synthetic polymer community. Nevertheless, characteristic and discriminatory taxa of significantly different biofilm communities were identified, indicating their specificity to a given substrate.



Item Type
Article
Authors
Divisions
Primary Division
Programs
Primary Topic
Publication Status
Published online
Eprint ID
57670
DOI 10.1016/j.marenvres.2018.09.028

Cite as
Kirstein, I. V. , Wichels, A. , Krohne, G. and Gerdts, G. (2018): Mature biofilm communities on synthetic polymers in seawater - Specific or general? , Marine Environmental Research, 142 , pp. 147-154 . doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2018.09.028


Download
[thumbnail of Kirstein et al MERE_4618.pdf]
Preview
PDF
Kirstein et al MERE_4618.pdf

Download (2MB) | Preview

Share
Add to AnyAdd to TwitterAdd to FacebookAdd to LinkedinAdd to PinterestAdd to Email


Citation


Actions
Edit Item Edit Item