title: Bacterial Diversity and Abundance in Shell Biofilms from the Freshwater Snail Pleurocera canaliculatum (Cerithioidea: Pleuroceridae).
abstract: Mollusk shells provide a hard substrate for aquatic biofilm colonization. While most work has focused on bivalve shells and grazing, little work has focused on gastropod shells and the microbes growing on them. We sampled biofilms from 14 Pleuroceracanaliculatum and analyzed them using a metagenomic approach. Microbial diversity varied between individuals, and rarefaction suggested that 63 snails would need to be sampled to capture all of the estimated genus-level diversity. Cyanobacteria and species of Novosphingobium and Methylosoma were the most abundant taxa across all shells.
authors.forename: Russell L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Minton
authors.forename: Clinton C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Creech
authors.forename: Debra W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Jackson
mesh_terms: D060105:Animal Shells / Q000382:microbiology*; D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018441:Biofilms; D012908:Snails / Q000382:microbiology*