title: In situ environment rather than substrate type dictates microbial community structure of biofilms in a cold seep system.
abstract: Using microscopic and molecular techniques combined with computational analysis, this study examined the structure and composition of microbial communities in biofilms that formed on different artificial substrates in a brine pool and on a seep vent of a cold seep in the Red Sea to test our hypothesis that initiation of the biofilm formation and spreading mode of microbial structures differs between the cold seep and the other aquatic environments. Biofilms on different substrates at two deployment sites differed morphologically, with the vent biofilms having higher microbial abundance and better structural features than the pool biofilms. Microbes in the pool biofilms were more taxonomically diverse and mainly composed of various sulfate-reducing bacteria whereas the vent biofilms were exclusively dominated by sulfur-oxidizing Thiomicrospira. These results suggest that the redox environments at the deployment sites might have exerted a strong selection on microbes in the biofilms at two sites whereas the types of substrates had limited effects on the biofilm development.
authors.affiliation: 1] Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong [2].
authors.forename: On On
authors.initials: OO
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: 1] Sanya Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, San Ya, Hai Nan, China [2].
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Renmao
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Weipeng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Chun Shum
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Shek
authors.affiliation: 1] Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong [2] Computational Biosciences Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Salim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bougouffa
authors.affiliation: Coastal and Marine Resources Core Laboratory, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdulaziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Suwailem
authors.affiliation: Coastal and Marine Resources Core Laboratory, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Zenon B
authors.initials: ZB
authors.lastname: Batang
authors.affiliation: Advanced Nanofabrication, Imaging, and Characterization Core Laboratory, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Advanced Nanofabrication, Imaging, and Characterization Core Laboratory, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Guang Chao
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Advanced Nanofabrication, Imaging, and Characterization Core Laboratory, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Xixiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Computational Biosciences Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Feras F
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Lafi
authors.affiliation: Computational Biosciences Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Vladmir B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Bajic
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Pei-Yuan
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Qian
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D018441:Biofilms; D003080:Cold Temperature; D064307:Microbiota; D010802:Phylogeny; D014871:Water Microbiology