**Acknowledgements**

We acknowledge Abertay University, Antwerp Maritime Academy, and the Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, as well as past grants including BOF grant "Microbiologisch beïnvloede corrosie gecontroleerd door middel van een UV ballast water management system" from the University of Antwerp and Antwerp Maritime Academy, ERASMUS-Plus grant 2017-1-BE02-KA107-034651 and a Staff Mobility grant 2017-1-UK01-KA107-036400, NATO SPS grant 984834, and the International Exchange Programme of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, which have supported the biofilm-associated collaboration between G. Potters, O. Moshynets, and A. Spiers, and have most recently enabled visits by R. Jerdan to Kiev and of O. Iungin and O. Moshynets to Antwerp and Dundee.
