Decay experiments coupled with the 16S rRNA and ITS region amplicon sequencing of water lily leaf biofilms: Does sediment type influence preservation?

Waterlilies were left to decay in aquariums for three months. Each aquarium contained a different substrate (control - C, pond mud -M, kaolinite -K, and quartz sand -Q). The goal was to understand how the microbial community of the leaf biofilms were altered with each sediment type and identify microbial groups that could be important for leaf decay or leaf preservation.