Rock surface colonization by groundwater microorganisms in an aquifer system in Quebec, Canada

Aquifers are rich in microbial diversity. Yet there is a lack of information about sessile communities in these environments. This study's objective is to better understand the sessile community in a fractured aquifer by comparing them to their planktonic counterparts. Using a system of bioreactors, we recreated the environmental conditions of an aquifer in Covey Hill (Quebec, Canada) using groundwater samples collected from the site as well as a rock sample. 16S/18S rRNA amplicon sequencing of the water and sessile communities after 24 days incubation were carried out.