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The microbial community structure of drinking water biofilms can be affected by phosphorus availability
Minna M Keinänen1, Leena K Korhonen, Markku J Lehtola
1Laboratory of Environmental Microbiolog, National Public Health Institute, FIN-70701 Kuopio, Finland. Minna.Keinanen@ktl.fi
Abstract:
Microbial communities in biofilms grown for 4 and 11 weeks under the flow of drinking water supplemented with 0, 1, 2, and 5 microg of phosphorus liter(-1) and in drinking and warm waters were compared by using phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and lipopolysaccharide 3-hydroxy fatty acids (LPS 3-OH-FAs). Phosphate increased the proportion of PLFAs 16:1 omega 7c and 18:1 omega 7c and affected LPS 3-OH-FAs after 11 weeks of growth, indicating an increase in gram-negative bacteria and changes in their community structure. Differences in community structures between biofilms and drinking and warm waters can be assumed from PLFAs and LPS 3-OH-FAs, concomitantly with adaptive changes in fatty acid chain length, cyclization, and unsaturation.