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Microbial composition and ecological features of phototrophic biofilms proliferating in the Moidons Caves (France): investigation at the single-cell level

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Abstract

The authors investigated the microbial composition of phototrophic biofilms proliferating in a show cave using flow cytometry for the first time in such a context. Results are based on several biofilms sampled in the Moidons Caves (France) and concern both heterotrophic prokaryotes and autotrophic microorganisms. Heterotrophic microorganisms with low nucleic acid content were dominant in biofilms, as can be expected from the oligotrophic conditions prevailing within the cave. Analysis of the biofilm autotrophic components revealed the presence of several taxa, particularly the unicellular green algae Chlorella minutissima, specifically well adapted to this cave. Relationships between flow cytometry results and environmental variables determined in the cave were established and discussed so as to better understand biofilm proliferation processes in caves.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully thank the owners of the Moidons Caves, Isabelle and François Gauthier, who kindly gave us access to the cave to collect samples. We also thank Dominique Rieffel and Didier Cailhol for their technical assistance during field work within the cave, and Serge Nitsche, head of the SEM facility at the Centre Interdisciplinaire de Nanoscience de Marseille (CINaM), for his helpful assistance and for providing access to SEM. Finally, we thank the Editor Pr. Robert Duran and the two anonymous reviewers whose comments have helped to greatly improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Chrono-Environnement, UMR CNRS 6249, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 16 route de Gray, Besançon, 25030, France

    Fabien Borderie, Badr Alaoui-Sossé & Lotfi Aleya

  2. Institut Méditerranéen d’Océanologie (MIO), CNRS/INSU, IRD, Université d’Aix-Marseille, 163 avenue de Luminy, Case 901, Marseille, 13288 Cedex 09, France

    Michel Denis & Aude Barani

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  1. Fabien Borderie
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  2. Michel Denis
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  3. Aude Barani
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  4. Badr Alaoui-Sossé
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  5. Lotfi Aleya
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Correspondence to Lotfi Aleya.

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Responsible editor: Robert Duran

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Borderie, F., Denis, M., Barani, A. et al. Microbial composition and ecological features of phototrophic biofilms proliferating in the Moidons Caves (France): investigation at the single-cell level. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 12039–12049 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6414-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6414-x

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