While photoautotrophic organisms are an important component of biofilms that live in certain regions of natural draft cooling towers, little is known about these communities. We therefore examined 18 towers at nine sites to identify the general patterns of community assembly in three distinct tower parts, and we examined how community structures differ depending on geography. We also compared the newly acquired data with previously published data. The bottom sections of draft cooling towers are mainly settled by large filamentous algae, primarily Cladophora glomerata. The central portions of towers host a small amount of planktic algae biomass originating in the cooling water. The upper fourths of towers are colonized by biofilms primarily dominated by cyanobacteria, e.g., members of the genera Gloeocapsa and Scytonema. A total of 41 taxa of phototrophic microorganisms were identified. Species composition of the upper fourth of all towers was significantly affected by cardinal position. There was different species composition at positions facing north compared to positions facing south. West- and east-facing positions were transitory and highly similar to each other in terms of species composition. Biofilms contribute to the degradation of paint coatings inside towers.

Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia Branišovská 31 České Budějovice CZ 37005 Czech Republic

Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences Dukelská 135 Třeboň CZ 37982 Czech Republic

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Dec 14;107(50):21749-54 PubMed

Med Hypotheses. 2013 Feb;80(2):142-5 PubMed

Appl Environ Microbiol. 1980 Feb;39(2):456-9 PubMed

Water Sci Technol. 2013;68(4):940-7 PubMed

Microb Ecol. 2009 Oct;58(3):538-47 PubMed

Future Microbiol. 2009 Jun;4(5):615-29 PubMed

Synthetic Biomimetic Polymethacrylates: Promising Platform for the Design of Anti-Cyanobacterial and Anti-Algal Agents