Communities of potentially corrosive microorganisms of the littoral zone of Kislaya Guba (Barents Sea)

Abstract

The destruction of different materials in natural environments takes place because of combination of different external factors: biological, physical and chemical. The biocorrosion represents up to 50% of all corrosive losses. Our research objective is to observe the microbially induced corrosion processes of various materials in the Barents Sea inshore ecosystems. The complete phylogenetic composition of microbial communities in water column and bottom sediments in the littoral zone of Kislaya Guba (Murmansk Oblast) was investigated, using new generation sequencing of 16S rRNA fragments. For the first time, all potentially corrosive groups of microorganisms were identified in the coastal zone of the Barents Sea such as sulfate-reducing, sulfur-, hydrogen-, iron- and manganese-oxidizing, nitrifying, ammonifying and phototrophic microorganisms. In the samples from bottom sediments, about 13% of all microorganisms were sulfate-reducing bacteria, which are one of the most active microorganisms in terms of corrosion. In the water samples, up to 20% of all microorganisms are bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas, which are known to possess a very labile metabolism and the ability to form corrosive biofilms. The obtained data will contribute into scientific knowledge of physiology and ecology of potentially corrosive microorganisms as well as of possible effects of mixed microbial populations on structural and physicochemical properties of materials used in modern hydrotechnical constructions under extreme Arctic conditions.