title: Antifouling coatings influence both abundance and community structure of colonizing biofilms: a case study in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea.
abstract: When immersed in seawater, substrates are rapidly colonized by both micro- and macroorganisms. This process is responsible for important economic and ecological prejudices, particularly when related to ship hulls or aquaculture nets. Commercial antifouling coatings are supposed to reduce biofouling, i.e., micro- and macrofoulers. In this study, biofilms that primarily settled on seven different coatings (polyvinyl chloride [PVC], a fouling release coating [FRC], and five self-polishing copolymer coatings [SPC], including four commercial ones) were quantitatively studied, after 1 month of immersion in summer in the Toulon Bay (Northwestern Mediterranean Sea, France), by using flow cytometry (FCM), microscopy, and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. FCM was used after a pretreatment to separate cells from the biofilm matrix, in order to determine densities of heterotrophic bacteria, picocyanobacteria, and pico- and nanoeukaryotes on these coatings. Among diatoms, the only microphytobenthic class identified by microscopy, Licmophora, Navicula, and Nitzschia were determined to be the dominant taxa. Overall, biocide-free coatings showed higher densities than all other coatings, except for one biocidal coating, whatever the group of microorganisms. Heterotrophic bacteria always showed the highest densities, and diatoms showed the lowest, but the relative abundances of these groups varied depending on the coating. In particular, the copper-free SPC failed to prevent diatom settlement, whereas the pyrithione-free SPC exhibited high picocyanobacterial density. These results highlight the interest in FCM for antifouling coating assessment as well as specific selection among microbial communities by antifouling coatings.
authors.affiliation: Université de Toulon, MAPIEM-EA 4223, La Garde, France.
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Camps
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, CNRS/INSU, IRD, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography, UM 110, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Aude
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barani
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, CNRS/INSU, IRD, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography, UM 110, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Gérald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gregori
authors.affiliation: INRA-UMR CARRTEL-RITOXE, Thonon-Les-Bains, France.
authors.forename: Agnès
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bouchez
authors.affiliation: INRA-UMR CARRTEL-RITOXE, Thonon-Les-Bains, France.
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Le Berre
authors.affiliation: Université de Toulon, MAPIEM-EA 4223, La Garde, France.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bressy
authors.affiliation: Université de Toulon, MAPIEM-EA 4223, La Garde, France.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Blache
authors.affiliation: Université de Toulon, MAPIEM-EA 4223, La Garde, France briand@univ-tln.fr.
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Briand
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects*; D057219:Biofouling / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017377:Diatoms / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D011108:Polymers / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011143:Polyvinyl Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D012623:Seawater / Q000382:microbiology*; D012767:Ships
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; D011143:Polyvinyl Chloride