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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2003, p. 6899-6907, Vol. 69, No. 11
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.11.6899-6907.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Long-Term Succession of Structure and Diversity of a Biofilm Formed in a Model Drinking Water Distribution System

Adam C. Martiny,1,2 Thomas M. Jørgensen,1,3 Hans-Jørgen Albrechtsen,2 Erik Arvin,2 and Søren Molin1*

BioCentrum-DTU,1 Environment and Resources, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby,2 Department of Optics and Fluid Dynamics, Risø National Laboratory, DK-4000 Risø, Denmark3

Received 5 May 2003/ Accepted 28 July 2003

In this study, we examined the long-term development of the overall structural morphology and community composition of a biofilm formed in a model drinking water distribution system with biofilms from 1 day to 3 years old. Visualization and subsequent quantification showed how the biofilm developed from an initial attachment of single cells through the formation of independent microcolonies reaching 30 µm in thickness to a final looser structure with an average thickness of 14.1 µm and covering 76% of the surface. An analysis of the community composition by use of terminal restriction fragment length polymorphisms showed a correlation between the population profile and the age of the sample, separating the samples into young (1 to 94 days) and old (571 to 1,093 days) biofilms, whereas a limited spatial variation in the biofilm was observed. A more detailed analysis with cloning and sequencing of 16S rRNA fragments illustrated how a wide variety of cells recruited from the bulk water initially attached and resulted in a species richness comparable to that in the water phase. This step was followed by the growth of a bacterium which was related to Nitrospira, which constituted 78% of the community by day 256, and which resulted in a reduction in the overall richness. After 500 days, the biofilm entered a stable population state, which was characterized by a greater richness of bacteria, including Nitrospira, Planctomyces, Acidobacterium, and Pseudomonas. The combination of different techniques illustrated the successional formation of a biofilm during a 3-year period in this model drinking water distribution system.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Molecular Microbial Ecology Group, BioCentrum-DTU, Building 301, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark. Phone: 45 45 25 25 13. Fax: 45 45 88 73 28. E-mail: sm{at}biocentrum.dtu.dk.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2003, p. 6899-6907, Vol. 69, No. 11
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.11.6899-6907.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Martiny, A. C., Albrechtsen, H.-J., Arvin, E., Molin, S. (2005). Identification of Bacteria in Biofilm and Bulk Water Samples from a Nonchlorinated Model Drinking Water Distribution System: Detection of a Large Nitrite-Oxidizing Population Associated with Nitrospira spp.. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 8611-8617 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hoefel, D., Monis, P. T., Grooby, W. L., Andrews, S., Saint, C. P. (2005). Culture-Independent Techniques for Rapid Detection of Bacteria Associated with Loss of Chloramine Residual in a Drinking Water System. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 6479-6488 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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