Legionellarelative abundance in shower hose biofilms is associated with specific microbiome members

Abstract

AbstractLegionellaare natural inhabitants of building plumbing biofilms, where interactions with other microorganisms influence their survival, proliferation, and death. Here, we investigated the associations ofLegionellawith prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbiomes in biofilm samples extracted from 85 shower hoses of a multiunit residential building.Legionellaspp. relative abundance in the biofilms ranged between 0 - 7.8%, of which only 0 - 0.46% wasL. pneumophila. Our data suggest that some microbiome members were associated with high (e.g.,Chthonomonas,Vrihiamoeba) or low (e.g.,Aquabacterium,Vannella)Legionellarelative abundance. The correlations of the differentLegionellavariants (30 Zero-Radius OTUs detected) showed distinct patterns, suggesting separate ecological niches occupied by differentLegionellaspecies. This study provides insights into the ecology ofLegionellawith respect to: 1) the colonization of a high number of real shower hoses biofilm samples; 2) the ecological meaning of associations betweenLegionellaand co-occurring prokaryotic/eukaryotic organisms; 3) critical points and future directions of microbial-interaction-based-ecological-investigations.