Conditioning film and initial biofilm formation on ceramics tiles in the marine environment

Abstract

The formation of biofilm on surfaces in the marine environment is believed to be an important factor driving colonization and recruitment of some sessile invertebrate communities. The present study follows the process of biofilm buildup on unglazed ceramic tiles deployed into the marine environment in the northern Gulf of Eilat. PCR-DGGE of film eluted from the tile surface indicated the presence of bacteria as early as 2 h after deployment. The makeup of the biofilm bacterial community was dynamic. Bacterial presence was apparent microscopically 6 h after deployment, though a developed biofilm was not observed until 24 h following deployment. Total organic carbon (TOC) data suggest that a conditioning film was built within the first four hours following deployment. During this time period TOC reached the highest level possibly due to adhesion of organics (e.g., sugars, proteins and humic substances) from the water column. We suggest that the primary adhering bacteria, whilst still in the reversible stage of adhesion, utilize the conditioning film as food causing the decrease in TOC. Understanding the dynamics between these primary bacterial settlers is of importance, since they may play a role on the succession of invertebrate species settlement onto artificial surfaces.

Ingestion of Microplastic Has Limited Impact on a Marine Larva

“…Biofilms consisting of bacteria, algae and diatoms form on submerged surfaces within minutes of entering the marine environment 56,57 . The formation of biofilms (biofouling) on polyethylene microspheres deterred ingestion by T. gratilla larvae in this study.…”

Bacterial communities in the initial stage of marine biofilm formation on artificial surfaces

“…As shown in Fig. 1 and 2, the bacterial communities of biofilm were clearly divided into two stages, i.e., Stage 1 during 0~9 h and Stage 2 during 12~36 h. Succession of bacterial community in biofilms is a well-known fact (Martiny et al, 2003;Lyautey et al, 2005;Siboni et al, 2007), and the mechanism of the succession was characterized as the sequence of pioneer-driven accumulation of biomass followed by enrichment of other groups (Dang and Lovell, 2000;Jones et al, 2007). However, the exact time frame for settlement of pioneer groups and subsequent recruitment of other groups were not known because previous studies on succession in marine biofilms were performed at >1-day intervals (Jones et al, 2007;Dang et al, 2008).…”

The role of cell-surface interactions in bacterial initial adhesion and consequent biofilm formation on nanofiltration/reverse osmosis membranes

“…For years several key studies adding to significant contributions on membrane biofouling in RO/NF systems employed model organisms that have little relevance to water environments, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa [22,67,73,129], a known clinical strain responsible for nosocomial and chronic wound types of infection; (k) an understanding of the succession and dynamics of surface colonization, which may partly depend on the effects of transient attachment periods and/or competition between species, should be further developed. Siboni et al [132] analyzed the community dynamics in early stage biofilm formation in the marine environment. It was found that some early colonizers disappeared; others appeared later while others were still stable and present throughout the study.…”