TY - GEN A1 - Gorbushina, Anna T1 - Biofilms on solar panel surfaces – new materials, long-known colonisers N2 - Simple, microbial biofilms have prevailed since life began on Earth. Biofilms form at the interfaces of solids with gases or liquids and have multiple effects on Substrate and element cycles. In geobiological terms, the most interesting microbial communities are those that form on solids exposed to air (subaerial). Microbial colonisers of the atmosphere-lithosphere interface include algae, cyanobacteria, fungi as well as heterotrophic bacteria and they have colonised virtually every rock surface throughout the entire geological history of the Earth. In addition to sequestering carbon, sub-aerial biofilms (SABS) actively participate in rock weathering. Rock-inhabiting SABs are the primary settlers on lava following volcanic eruptions and on rocks following the retreat of glaciers. SABs especially dominate hostile environments in which growth of higher Vegetation is restricted especially in deserts, polar- and alpine regions. SABs are the primary colonisers of lithospheric (e.g. rocks) and anthropogenic Substrates (buildings, monuments, solar panels, etc.). Life at the solid material/atmosphere interface influences and is affected by both the underlying Substrate and the microclimate surrounding it. Although subaerial life is ubiquitous, how SABs develop and importantly degrade underlying Substrates can only be clarified in well-controlled experiments that often involve simplified model Systems, So far, biofilm development on solar panels has been studied using; (i) metagenomics; (ii) in situ microscopy; and (iii) classical microbiological methods that are both qualitative and quantitative. Here we suggest that solar panel biofilms are accessible and highly relevant objects to study microbial ecology, geobiology and biodeterioration. T2 - 7th Congress of European Microbiologists (FEMS 2017) CY - València, Spain DA - 09.07.2017 KW - SABs KW - Biodeterioration KW - Biofilm KW - Solar panel PY - 2017 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-bam/frontdoor/index/index/docId/41189 AN - OPUS4-41189 AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany