Temperate and tropical coastal waters share relatively similar microbial biofilm communities while free‐living or particle‐attached communities are distinct

• Published in: Molecular ecology Vol. 30; no. 12; pp. 2891 - 2904
• Main Authors: Catão C. P., Elisa, Pollet, Thomas, Garnier, Cédric, Barry‐Martinet, Raphaëlle, Rehel, Karine, Linossier, Isabelle, Tunin‐Ley, Alina, Turquet, Jean, Briand, Jean‐François
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.06.2021; Wiley
• Subjects: Biofilms; Biosphere; Coastal waters; Environmental conditions; environmental drivers; Environmental effects; geographical effect; Life Sciences; lifestyle; Lifestyles; marine biofilms; Microbial activity; Microorganisms; Nutrients; Oceans; Polyvinyl chloride; prokaryotes; rRNA 16S; Ship hulls; Ships; Trace metals; Water quality; geographical effect; prokaryotes; environmental drivers; marine biofilms; lifestyle
• ISSN: 0962-1083; 1365-294X
• DOI: 10.1111/mec.15929

Free‐living (FL) marine microbial communities differ from those attached to particles (PA). Likewise, biofilms (B) colonizing artificial surfaces, including plastics or ship hulls, hardly resemble their planktonic surroundings. However, few studies have examined the effect of the environment on these lifestyles and on the source of organisms colonizing marine surfaces. Using 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding, we identified specificities of marine prokaryotic community lifestyles (FL, PA or B) sampled in three coastal polluted locations with dissimilar environmental conditions: the North‐Western Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Biofilms developed over polyvinyl chloride (PVC) were found to be significantly different from FL or PA collected during the immersions. Alpha‐diversity increased from FL to PA and to B, illustrating the integrative aspect of the latter, with little proportion of operational taxonomic units shared with the first two. Beta‐diversity clustered first the lifestyles and then the sites. FL and PA were more affected by water quality, especially by trace metal contamination, whereas B were as sensitive to trace metals as to nutrients. Although biofilms should be supplied by the planktonic (ultra) rare biosphere, source tracking could only detect small contributions of FL or PA taxa to B communities.