Light availability affects stream biofilm bacterial community composition and function, but not diversity.

ABSTRACT: Changes in riparian vegetation or water turbidity and browning in streams alter the local light regime with potential implications for stream biofilms and ecosystem functioning. We experimented with biofilms in microcosms grown under a gradient of light intensities (range: 5-152 μmole photons s(-1)  m(-2) ) and combined 454-pyrosequencing and enzymatic activity assays to evaluate the effects of light on biofilm structure and function. We observed a shift in bacterial community composition along the light gradient, whereas there was no apparent change in alpha diversity. Multifunctionality, based on extracellular enzymes, was highest under high light conditions and decoupled from bacterial diversity. Phenol oxidase activity, involved in the degradation of polyphenolic compounds, was twice a

SUBMITTER: Wagner K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4950016 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature