Molecular fingerprinting and amplicon sequencing of the bacterial biofilm on settlement tiles deployed along natural pH gradients in Papua New Guinea ...

• Main Authors: Hassenrück, Christiane, Tegetmeyer, Halina, Ramette, Alban, Fabricius, Katharina Elisabeth
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2016
• Subjects: Sampling by diver; BIOACID 2 PNG2013; M.V. Chertan; Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification BIOACID; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.860795; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.860795

Bacterial biofilms provide cues for the settlement of marine invertebrates such as coral larvae, and are therefore important for the resilience and recovery of coral reefs. This study aimed to better understand how ocean acidification may affect the community composition and diversity of bacterial biofilms on surfaces under naturally reduced pH conditions. Settlement tiles were deployed at coral reefs in Papua New Guinea along pH gradients created by two CO2 seeps, and upper and lower tiles surfaces were sampled 5 and 13 months after deployment. Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis were used to characterize more than 200 separate bacterial communities, complemented by amplicon sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene of 16 samples. The bacterial biofilm consisted predominantly of Alpha-, Gamma- and Deltaproteobacteria, as well as Cyanobacteria, Flavobacteriia and Cytophaga, whereas putative settlement-inducing taxa only accounted for a small fraction of the community. Bacterial biofilm composition ... : Supplement to: Hassenrück, Christiane; Tegetmeyer, Halina; Ramette, Alban; Fabricius, Katharina Elisabeth (2017): Minor impacts of reduced pH on bacterial biofilms on settlement tiles along natural pH gradients at two CO2 seeps in Papua New Guinea. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 10 pp ...