Structure and composition of microbial community on different stone surface

Microbial biofilms, comprising bacteria, archaea, and fungi, drive stone degradation through physical and chemical interactions that cause erosion and structural damage. In this study, the biofilms of stone from Dagang river (DGH) and Shantou University Reservoir (STU) were studied, which including the microbial community composition and its relationship with elemental composition of stone exposed to the environments. The results showed that Cyanobacteria (16.86%) and Proteobacteria (31.4%) were high abundance in all stone samples. Meanwhile, the elemental composition of the stone was analyzed by SEM and EDS. The results indicate that carbon (C), oxygen (O), potassium (K), and calcium (Ca) are the main constituent elements of stones, with some samples (DGH1) having a high content of rubidium (Rb) and some samples (DGH-4) containing a small amount of fluorine (F). Furthermore, redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed significant positive correlations between specific bacterial (e.g., Candidatus Accumulibacter and Dickeya ) genera and elements, including Rb ( R 2 = 0.19), Cl ( R 2 = 0.21), and Ca ( R 2 = 0.79). Our research findings delve into the impact of elemental composition on microbial communities and its potential role in stone degradation, providing a reference for future research on stone conservation and preservation. • Fluorine (F) promotes the colonization and growth of Cyanobacteria, which in turn leads to the production of humic acid substances that corrode rocks. • Calcium and carbon are the key factors influencing the formation of the film on the stone surface. • The elemental composition of rocks determines the types of microorganisms that colonize them.