biostudies-literatureUnknown9(8)Janssen K<h4>Premise</h4>Within a broader study on leaf fossilization in freshwater environments, a long-term study on the development and microbiome composition of biofilms on the foliage of aquatic plants has been initiated to understand how microbes and biofilms contribute to leaf decay and preservation. Here, water lily leaves are employed as a study model to investigate the relationship between bacterial microbiomes, biodegradation, and fossilization. We compare four DNA extraction kits to reduce biases in interpretation and to identify the most suitable kit for the extraction of DNA from bacteria associated with biofilms on decaying water lily leaves for 16S rRNA amplicon analysis.<h4>Methods</h4>We extracted surface-associated DNA from <i>Nymphaea</i> leaves in early stages of decay at two wApplications in plant sciencese11444https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8419396biostudies-literatureElucidating biofilm diversity on water lily leaves through 16S rRNA amplicon analysis: Comparison of four DNA extraction kits.PMC8419396Mu QYJanssen KBierbaum GLow SLWang YGee CTfalseElucidating biofilm diversity on water lily leaves through 16S rRNA amplicon analysis: Comparison of four DNA extraction kits.<h4>Premise</h4>Within a broader study on leaf fossilization in freshwater environments, a long-term study on the development and microbiome composition of biofilms on the foliage of aquatic plants has been initiated to understand how microbes and biofilms contribute to leaf decay and preservation. Here, water lily leaves are employed as a study model to investigate the relationship between bacterial microbiomes, biodegradation, and fossilization. We compare four DNA extraction kits to reduce biases in interpretation and to identify the most suitable kit for the extraction of DNA from bacteria associated with biofilms on decaying water lily leaves for 16S rRNA amplicon analysis.<h4>Methods</h4>We extracted surface-associated DNA from <i>Nymphaea</i> leaves in early stages of decay at two w2021-01-01T00:00:00Z2021 Aug2025-04-19T09:45:23.118Z2022-02-11T10:51:54.761ZS-EPMC84193963450473710.1002/aps3.11444