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Bacterial Community Succession in Natural River Biofilm Assemblages

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Abstract

Temporal bacterial community changes in river biofilms were studied using 16S rRNA gene-based polymerase chain reaction–denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) followed by sequence analysis. Naturally occurring biofilms were sampled in 2001 during an undisturbed 7-month low-water period in the River Garonne (SW France). During the sampling period epilithic biomass exhibited a particular pattern: two 3-month periods of accumulation that resulted in two peaks in summer and fall, each at about 25 g ash-free dry mass per square meter. Bacterial community DGGE profiles differed between the summer and fall biomass peaks and shared only 30% common operational taxonomic units (OTUs), suggesting the influence of seasonal factors on these communities. During the second biomass accrual phase, bacterial richness and the appearance of new OTUs fitted a conceptual model of bacterial biofilm succession. During succession, five OTUs (corresponding to Dechloromonas sp., Nitrospira sp., and three different Spirosoma spp.) exhibited particular patterns and were present only during clearly defined successional stages, suggesting differences in life-history strategies for epilithic bacteria. Co-inertia analysis of DGGE banding patterns and physical–chemical data showed a significant relationship between community structure and environmental conditions suggesting that bacterial communities were mainly influenced by seasonal changes (temperature, light) and hydrodynamic stability. Within the periods of stability, analysis of environmental variables and community patterns showed the dominant influence of time and maturation on bacterial community structure. Thus, succession in these naturally occurring epilithic biofilm assemblages appears to occur through a combination of allogenic (seasonal) and autogenic changes.

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Acknowledgments

E.L. was supported by a Ph.D. fellowship from the French Ministère de la Recherche et de la Technologie and by a grant for foreign exchange (ATUPS) from the University Paul Sabatier. We are grateful to C. Mur and D. Dalger for water chemistry analysis and C. Foultier, J. Meillon, and S. Teissier for field assistance.

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  1. Laboratoire d'Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes, UMR 5177 CNRS, Université Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062, Toulouse Cedex 9, France

    Emilie Lyautey, Jérôme Cayrou, Jean-Luc Rols & Frédéric Garabétian

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, SLU 10736, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA, 70402, USA

    Colin R. Jackson

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  1. Emilie Lyautey
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  2. Colin R. Jackson
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Correspondence to Emilie Lyautey.

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Lyautey, E., Jackson, C.R., Cayrou, J. et al. Bacterial Community Succession in Natural River Biofilm Assemblages. Microb Ecol 50, 589–601 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-005-5032-9

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