Metabolomics of Subaerial Biofilms

The results of a metabolomic profile analysis of subaerial biofilms (SABs) of varying taxonomic compositions formed under various conditions are presented. The temporal and spatial characteristics of the SAB metabolic profile within a single biotope in St. Petersburg were also studied in detail. Metabolomic profiling was performed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Dimensionality reduction methods, including principal component analysis, partial least squares discriminant analysis, and hierarchical clustering, were used to visualize the data structure and potential class separation. The metabolomic profile reflects the dominant group of organisms, even when the abundance of a particular group of organisms is not significant. Metabolomic analysis using GC-MS allows for rapid acquisition of information on the diversity of small organic molecules in the profile, specifically those belonging to actively growing organisms, which will allow for a better understanding not only of the composition but also of the functioning of the community. Within a single biotope, temporal factors can contribute significantly more to the metabolomic differences in biofilms than spatial heterogeneity. Polyols, fatty acids, terpenoids, and sterols contribute most to the structural differences in the SAB metabolite network from different biotopes, as well as to the spatial and dynamic changes in SAB within a single biotope.