title: Species sorting during biofilm assembly by artificial substrates deployed in a cold seep system.
abstract: Studies focusing on biofilm assembly in deep-sea environments are rarely conducted. To examine the effects of substrate type on microbial community assembly, biofilms were developed on different substrates for different durations at two locations in the Red Sea: in a brine pool and in nearby bottom water (NBW) adjacent to the Thuwal cold seep II. The composition of the microbial communities in 51 biofilms and water samples were revealed by classification of pyrosequenced 16S rRNA gene amplicons. Together with the microscopic characteristics of the biofilms, the results indicate a stronger selection effect by the substrates on the microbial assembly in the brine pool compared with the NBW. Moreover, the selection effect by substrate type was stronger in the early stages compared with the later stages of the biofilm development. These results are consistent with the hypotheses proposed in the framework of species sorting theory, which states that the power of species sorting during microbial community assembly is dictated by habitat conditions, duration and the structure of the source community. Therefore, the results of this study shed light on the control strategy underlying biofilm-associated marine fouling and provide supporting evidence for ecological theories important for understanding the formation of deep-sea biofilms.
authors.affiliation: KAUST Global Partnership Program, Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Wei Peng
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: 1] KAUST Global Partnership Program, Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong [2] Sanya Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, San Ya, Hai Nan, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: KAUST Global Partnership Program, Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Ren Mao
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: KAUST Global Partnership Program, Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Salim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bougouffa
authors.affiliation: KAUST Global Partnership Program, Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: KAUST Global Partnership Program, Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Hui Luo
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: KAUST Global Partnership Program, Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Gen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: KAUST Global Partnership Program, Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Yue Him
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Zenon
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Batang
authors.affiliation: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdulaziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Suwailem
authors.affiliation: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Xi Xiang
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: KAUST Global Partnership Program, 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: D018441:Biofilms; D019156:Indian Ocean; D008386:Marine Biology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics*; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D014871:Water Microbiology
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S