Community structure and nutrient level control the tolerance of autotrophic biofilm to silver contamination

Autotrophic biofilms are complex and fundamental biological compartments of many aquatic ecosystems. Since microbial species differ in their sensitivity to stressors, biofilms have long been proposed for assessing the quality of aquatic ecosystems. Among the many stressors impacting aquatic ecosyste...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Environmental science and pollution research international 2015-09, Vol.22 (18), p.13739-13752
Main Authors:	Leflaive, J., Felten, V., Ferriol, J., Lamy, A., Ten-Hage, L., Bec, A., Danger, M.
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Aquatic ecosystems Aquatic Pollution Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution Autotrophic Processes - drug effects Bacillariophyceae Bacteria Biofilms Biofilms - drug effects Continental interfaces, environment Cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria - drug effects Cyanobacteria - metabolism Cyanobacteria - physiology Diatoms - drug effects Diatoms - metabolism Diatoms - physiology Earth and Environmental Science Ecology, environment Ecosystem Ecosystems Ecotoxicology Environment Environmental Chemistry Environmental Health Environmental Sciences Eutrophication Food and Nutrition Life Sciences Microbial Ecology of the Continental and Coastal Environments Microorganisms Nanoparticles Phosphorus Phosphorus - pharmacology Pollutants Sciences of the Universe Silver Silver - toxicity Symbiosis Toxicity Toxicology Waste Water Technology Water Management Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity Water Pollution Control
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Autotrophic biofilms are complex and fundamental biological compartments of many aquatic ecosystems. Since microbial species differ in their sensitivity to stressors, biofilms have long been proposed for assessing the quality of aquatic ecosystems. Among the many stressors impacting aquatic ecosystems, eutrophication and metal pollution are certainly the most common. Despite that these stressors often occur together, their effects on biofilms have been far much studied separately than interactively. In this study, we evaluated the interactive effects of silver (Ag), a reemerging contaminant, and phosphorus (P), a nutrient often associated with freshwater eutrophication, on the structure and functioning of two types of autotrophic biofilms, one dominated by diatoms and another one dominated by cyanobacteria. We hypothesized that P would alleviate the toxic effects of Ag, either directly, through the contribution of P in metal detoxification processes, or indirectly, through P-mediated shifts in biofilm community compositions and associated divergences in metal tolerance. Results showed that Ag impacted biofilm community structure and functioning but only at unrealistic concentrations (50 μg/L). P availability led to significant shifts in biofilm community composition, these changes being more pronounced in diatom- than those in cyanobacteria-dominated biofilm. In addition, P tended to reduce the impact of Ag but only for the cyanobacteria-dominated biofilm. More generally, our results highlight the preponderant role of the initial community structure and nutrient level on biofilm response to metallic pollutants.
ISSN:	0944-1344 1614-7499