Marine biofilms on different fouling control coating types reveal differences in microbial community composition and abundance

Marine biofouling imposes serious environmental and economic impacts on marine applications, especially in the shipping industry. To combat biofouling, protective coatings are applied on vessel hulls which are divided into two major groups: biocidal and non-toxic fouling-release. The aim of the current study was to explore the effect of coating type on microbial biofilm community profiles to better understand the differences between the communities developed on fouling control biocidal antifouling and biocidal-free coatings. Biocidal (Intersmooth(R) 7460HS SPC; BAF), fouling-release (Intersleek(R) 900; FRC), and inert (PDMS) surfaces were deployed in the marine environment for 4 months and the biofilms that developed on these surfaces were investigated using Illumina NGS sequencing, targeting the prokaryotic 16S rRNA gene.