Surface microbiomes of co-occurring invasive and natives seaweeds in the Baltic sea

The surface microbiome of seaweed hosts is a multi-domain biofilm regulated by host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions. The extent to which hosts influence these interactions, and potentially affect their resilience and invasion success, remains unclear. We experimentally tested whether hosts with invasion history exhibit more influence over their biofilms than native hosts. Biofilm formation on proxy surfaces adjacent to one invasive (Gracilaria vermiculophylla) and two native (Fucus serratus, Fucus vesiculosus) perennial hosts was monitored and compared with mature epiphytic biofilms from the same hosts.