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Biofilm formation behaviour of marine filamentous cyanobacterial strains in controlled hydrodynamic conditions
Author(s) -
Romeu Maria J.,
Alves Patrícia,
Morais João,
Miranda João M.,
Jong Ed.D.,
Sjollema Jelmer,
Ramos Vítor,
Vasconcelos Vitor,
Mergulhão Filipe J. M.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.14807
Subject(s) - biofilm , biofouling , biology , cyanobacteria , adhesion , microtiter plate , shear (geology) , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , materials science , composite material , biochemistry , paleontology , genetics , membrane
Summary Marine biofouling has severe economic impacts and cyanobacteria play a significant role as early surface colonizers. Despite this fact, cyanobacterial biofilm formation studies in controlled hydrodynamic conditions are scarce. In this work, computational fluid dynamics was used to determine the shear rate field on coupons that were placed inside the wells of agitated 12‐well microtiter plates. Biofilm formation by three different cyanobacterial strains was assessed at two different shear rates (4 and 40 s −1 ) which can be found in natural ecosystems and using different surfaces (glass and perspex). Biofilm formation was higher under low shear conditions, and differences obtained between surfaces were not always statistically significant. The hydrodynamic effect was more noticeable during the biofilm maturation phase rather than during initial cell adhesion and optical coherence tomography showed that different shear rates can affect biofilm architecture. This study is particularly relevant given the cosmopolitan distribution of these cyanobacterial strains and the biofouling potential of these organisms.