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Microbial community structure and functional profile of marine biofilms grown on glass slides with adhesion dynamics insight

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of bacterial biofilm in the marine environment is essential in approaching various problems, caused by these regularly formed biofilms. A closer look at the biofilm community structure and the annotated metabolic function in different shorter time intervals, in regard to the seawater sample, revealed the main species and genera responsible for these events at the very beginning, as well as the evolution of biofilm formation. Using the 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and bioinformatic analysis of metagenomic data, provided the relative abundances of the samples, allowing a clear distinction between planktonic species and those with a strong adhesion tendency, such as Thalassotalea, Colwellia and Vibrio genera. The abundances were linked to metabolic functions involved in the early colonization process. From the gene families attributed to these genera, they were related to surface attachment, biofilm formation, cell motility and quorum sensing. Biofilm composition is the richest and most diverse in an early stage, while more dominant species slightly prevail over time. Vibrio gigantis species particularly showed an importance and contribution in an early phase of biofilm development. Its monoculture was isolated and conserved. To confirm its behaviour, it was used in controlled experiments with a picotwist apparatus. Previously cultured bacteria were inserted into a formed channel and the fixed level of clean glass surface was analysed over time. Recording the videos at different frame rates per second and splitting it into images allowed further processing of the images, reflecting the actual surface condition. Image J software, used for binarization and overlapping, confirmed the strong spontaneous adhering of Vibrio gigantis, with the remaining challenges of developing a reproducible experiment protocol for adhering measurements. The same protocol could be used for other coated surfaces and interaction studies, leading to new antifouling potentials.

Vibrio gigantis, biofilm ; NGS, metagenome, adhesion measurement

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