Äspö biofilm clogging experiment
The deep terrestrial biosphere is the vast biome beneath the soil layer that contains the majority of the Earth's prokaryotic biomass, yet it is one of the least investigated communities. Furthermore, the majority of the deep terrestrial microbial investigations have targeted the planktonic communities captured from groundwaters whereas, estimates of the deep biosphere suggest attached, sessile cells outnumber the planktonic biomass by several orders of magnitude. This multi-year study used 16S rRNA gene sequencing of planktonic and biofilm communities attached to natural rock to show the two populations both differ and the biofilm developed with time.