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Abundance, activity and structure of denitrifier communities in phototrophic river biofilms (River Garonne, France)

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Abstract

Phototrophic river biofilms are microbial assemblages involved in in-stream processes. For a better understanding of N-cycling, the denitrifier community abundance, activity and structure were monitored in natural biofilm assemblages, in two sites exhibiting contrasting nutrient concentrations during a 1-year period. The denitrifier abundance, estimated by quantification of the nirS, nirK and nosZ genes, correlated to biofilm biomass and total bacterial counts. Site-related differences in denitrification activity were observed and the rates were significantly correlated with the nosZ gene copy numbers and biofilm biomass. The denitrifier community structure, assessed by PCR-DGGE of nosZ, differed between sites with only minor differences between sampling occasions, and correlated with the total bacterial community structure. Altogether, these findings suggest that nutrient loading, especially nitrogen, affect both denitrifier community structure and activity.

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Acknowledgments

Emilie Lyautey was supported by a Ph.D. fellowship from the French Ministère de la Recherche et de la Technologie. Amaia Iribar was supported by FEDER (Fonds Européen de Développement Régional) and by a grant for foreign exchange (ATUPS) from the University Paul Sabatier. This work was funded by GIS ECOBAG (Groupement d’Intérêt Scientifique—Ecologie et Economie du Bassin Adour Garonne). We are grateful to C. Mur and D. Dalger for water chemistry analysis, to K. Enwall, D. Bru and Y. Nicaise for molecular biology assistance and to J. Henry for proofreading the ms.

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  1. Emilie Lyautey

    Present address: Université de Savoie, UMR 42 CARRTEL, 73376, Le Bourget du Lac, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. EcoLab (Laboratoire d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle), Université de Toulouse, UPS, CNRS, INP, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, France

    Emilie Lyautey, Samuel Teissier, Amaia Iribar, Arthur Compin & Frédéric Garabetian

  2. Department of Microbiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Uppsala, Sweden

    Sara Hallin

  3. INRA, UMR Soil and Environmental Microbiology, 21065, Dijon, France

    Laurent Philippot

  4. Université de Bordeaux, UMR 5805 EPOC, 33000, Bordeaux, France

    Frédéric Garabetian

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  1. Emilie Lyautey
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Lyautey, E., Hallin, S., Teissier, S. et al. Abundance, activity and structure of denitrifier communities in phototrophic river biofilms (River Garonne, France). Hydrobiologia 716, 177–187 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-013-1561-2

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