biostudies-literatureUnknown12Miao LPeriphytic biofilms have been widely used in wastewater purification and water ecological restoration, and artificial substrates have been progressively used for periphyton immobilisation to substitute natural substrates. However, there is insufficient knowledge regarding the interaction network structure and microbial functions in biofilm communities on artificial substrates, which are essential attribute affecting their applications in biofilm immobilisation. This study compared the community structure, co-occurrence network, and metabolic functions of bacterial and microeukaryotic periphytic biofilms during a 35-day indoor cultivation on artificial substrates, such as artificial carbon fibre (ACF) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and natural substrates, such as pebble and wood. Results demFrontiers in microbiology684903https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8350161biostudies-literaturePeriphytic Biofilm Formation on Natural and Artificial Substrates: Comparison of Microbial Compositions, Interactions, and Functions.PMC8350161Wu JHou JWang CYan NAdyel TMMiao LZhao JfalsePeriphytic Biofilm Formation on Natural and Artificial Substrates: Comparison of Microbial Compositions, Interactions, and Functions.Periphytic biofilms have been widely used in wastewater purification and water ecological restoration, and artificial substrates have been progressively used for periphyton immobilisation to substitute natural substrates. However, there is insufficient knowledge regarding the interaction network structure and microbial functions in biofilm communities on artificial substrates, which are essential attribute affecting their applications in biofilm immobilisation. This study compared the community structure, co-occurrence network, and metabolic functions of bacterial and microeukaryotic periphytic biofilms during a 35-day indoor cultivation on artificial substrates, such as artificial carbon fibre (ACF) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and natural substrates, such as pebble and wood. Results dem2021-01-01T00:00:00Z20212026-05-09T10:09:13.069Z2022-02-11T07:23:45.617ZS-EPMC83501613438142710.3389/fmicb.2021.684903