1
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Doloman A, de Bruin S, van Loosdrecht MCM, Sousa DZ, Lin Y. Coupling extracellular glycan composition with metagenomic data in papermill and brewery anaerobic granular sludges. Water Res 2024; 252:121240. [PMID: 38330717 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Glycans are crucial for the structure and function of anaerobic granular sludge in wastewater treatment. Yet, there is limited knowledge regarding the microorganisms and biosynthesis pathways responsible for glycan production. In this study, we analysed samples from anaerobic granular sludges treating papermill and brewery wastewater, examining glycans composition and using metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) to explore potential biochemical pathways associated with their production. Uronic acids were the predominant constituents of the glycans in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) produced by the anaerobic granular sludges, comprising up to 60 % of the total polysaccharide content. MAGs affiliated with Anaerolineacae, Methanobacteriaceae and Methanosaetaceae represented the majority of the microbial community (30-50 % of total reads per MAG). Based on the analysis of MAGs, it appears that Anaerolinea sp. and members of the Methanobacteria class are involved in the production of exopolysaccharides within the analysed granular sludges. These findings shed light on the functional roles of microorganisms in glycan production in industrial anaerobic wastewater treatment systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Doloman
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands.
| | | | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, TU Delft, the Netherlands; Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Center for Microbial Communities, Aalborg University, Denmark
| | - Diana Z Sousa
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands; Centre for Living Technologies, EWUU Alliance, the Netherlands
| | - Yuemei Lin
- Department of Biotechnology, TU Delft, the Netherlands
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2
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Deng S, Liu J, Yang X, Sun D, Wang A, van Loosdrecht MCM, Cheng X. Release of phosphorus through pretreatment of waste activated sludge differs essentially from that of carbon and nitrogen resources: Comparative analysis across four wastewater treatment facilities. Bioresour Technol 2024; 396:130423. [PMID: 38341045 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.130423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 01/14/2024] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
The accumulation of phosphorus in activated sludge in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) provides potential for phosphorus recovery from sewage. This study delves into the potential for releasing phosphorus from waste activated sludge through two distinct treatment methods-thermal hydrolysis and pH adjustment. The investigation was conducted with activated sludge sourced from four WWTPs, each employing distinct phosphorus removal strategies. The findings underscore the notably superior efficacy of pH adjustment in solubilizing sludge phosphorus compared to the prevailing practice of thermal hydrolysis, widely adopted to enhance sludge digestion. The reversibility of phosphorus release within pH fluctuations spanning 2 to 12 implies that the release of sludge phosphorus can be attributed to the dissolution of phosphate precipitates. Alkaline sludge treatment induced the concurrent liberation of COD, nitrogen, and phosphorus through alkaline hydrolysis of sludge biomass and the dissolution of iron or aluminium phosphates, offering potential gains in resource recovery and energy efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaoyu Deng
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Source Control Technology of Water Pollution, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Jiaqi Liu
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Source Control Technology of Water Pollution, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Xiaofan Yang
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Source Control Technology of Water Pollution, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Dezhi Sun
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Source Control Technology of Water Pollution, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Aijie Wang
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629, HZ, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Xiang Cheng
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Source Control Technology of Water Pollution, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China.
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3
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Policastro G, Ebrahimi S, Weissbrodt DG, Fabbricino M, van Loosdrecht MCM. Selecting for a high lipid accumulating microalgae culture by dual growth limitation in a continuous bioreactor. Sci Total Environ 2024; 912:169213. [PMID: 38097066 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/25/2023]
Abstract
A dual-growth-limited continuous operated bioreactor (chemostat) was used to enhance lipid accumulation in an enrichment culture of microalgae. The light intensity and nitrogen concentration where both limiting factors resulting in high lipid accumulation in the mixed culture. Both conditions of light and nitrogen excess and deficiency were tested. Strategies to selectively enrich for a phototrophic lipid-storing community, based on the use of different nitrogen sources (ammonium vs. nitrate) and vitamin B supplementation in the growth medium, were evaluated. The dual limitation of both nitrogen and light enhanced the accumulation of storage compounds. Ammoniacal nitrogen was the preferred nitrogen source. Vitamin B supplementation led to a doubling of the lipid productivity. The availability of vitamins played a key role in selecting an efficient lipid-storing community, primarily consisting of Trebouxiophyceae (with an 82 % relative abundance among eukaryotic microorganisms). The obtained lipid volumetric productivity (387 mg L-1 d-1) was among the highest reported in literature for microalgae bioreactors. Lipid production by the microalgae enrichment surpassed the efficiencies reported for continuous microalgae pure cultures, highlighting the benefits of mixed-culture photo-biotechnologies for fuels and food ingredients in the circular economy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grazia Policastro
- Department of Engineering and Computer Science, Telematic University Pegaso, Naples, Italy; Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
| | - Sirous Ebrahimi
- Biotechnology Research Center, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran; Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - David G Weissbrodt
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands; Department of Biotechnology and Natural Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Massimiliano Fabbricino
- Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
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4
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Páez-Watson T, van Loosdrecht MCM, Wahl SA. From metagenomes to metabolism: Systematically assessing the metabolic flux feasibilities for "Candidatus Accumulibacter" species during anaerobic substrate uptake. Water Res 2024; 250:121028. [PMID: 38128304 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.121028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
With the rapid growing availability of metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) and associated metabolic models, the identification of metabolic potential in individual community members has become possible. However, the field still lacks an unbiassed systematic evaluation of the generated metagenomic information to uncover not only metabolic potential, but also feasibilities of these models under specific environmental conditions. In this study, we present a systematic analysis of the metabolic potential in species of "Candidatus Accumulibacter", a group of polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs). We constructed a metabolic model of the central carbon metabolism and compared the metabolic potential among available MAGs for "Ca. Accumulibacter" species. By combining Elementary Flux Modes Analysis (EFMA) with max-min driving force (MDF) optimization, we obtained all possible flux distributions of the metabolic network and calculated their individual thermodynamic feasibility. Our findings reveal significant variations in the metabolic potential among "Ca. Accumulibacter" MAGs, particularly in the presence of anaplerotic reactions. EFMA revealed 700 unique flux distributions in the complete metabolic model that enable the anaerobic uptake of acetate and its conversion into polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a well-known phenotype of "Ca. Accumulibacter". However, thermodynamic constraints narrowed down this solution space to 146 models that were stoichiometrically and thermodynamically feasible (MDF > 0 kJ/mol), of which only 8 were strongly feasible (MDF > 7 kJ/mol). Notably, several novel flux distributions for the metabolic model were identified, suggesting putative, yet unreported, functions within the PAO communities. Overall, this work provides valuable insights into the metabolic variability among "Ca. Accumulibacter" species and redefines the anaerobic metabolic potential in the context of phosphate removal. More generally, the integrated workflow presented in this paper can be applied to any metabolic model obtained from a MAG generated from microbial communities to objectively narrow the expected phenotypes from community members.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Páez-Watson
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands.
| | | | - S Aljoscha Wahl
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
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5
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Surkatti R, van Loosdrecht MCM, Hussein IA, El-Naas MH. PVA-TiO 2 Nanocomposite Hydrogel as Immobilization Carrier for Gas-to-Liquid Wastewater Treatment. Nanomaterials (Basel) 2024; 14:249. [PMID: 38334520 PMCID: PMC10856303 DOI: 10.3390/nano14030249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
This study investigates the development of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) gel matrices for biomass immobilization in wastewater treatment. The PVA hydrogels were prepared through a freezing-thawing (F-T) cross-linking process and reinforced with high surface area nanoparticles to improve their mechanical stability and porosity. The PVA/nanocomposite hydrogels were prepared using two different nanoparticle materials: iron oxide (Fe3O2) and titanium oxide (TiO2). The effects of the metal oxide nanoparticle type and content on the pore structure, hydrogel bonding, and mechanical and viscoelastic properties of the cross-linked hydrogel composites were investigated. The most durable PVA/nanoparticles matrix was then tested in the bioreactor for the biological treatment of wastewater. Morphological analysis showed that the reinforcement of PVA gel with Fe2O3 and TiO2 nanoparticles resulted in a compact nanocomposite hydrogel with regular pore distribution. The FTIR analysis highlighted the formation of bonds between nanoparticles and hydrogel, which caused more interaction within the polymeric matrix. Furthermore, the mechanical strength and Young's modulus of the hydrogel composites were found to depend on the type and content of the nanoparticles. The most remarkable improvement in the mechanical strength of the PVA/nanoparticles composites was obtained by incorporating 0.1 wt% TiO2 and 1.0 wt% Fe2O3 nanoparticles. However, TiO2 showed more influence on the mechanical strength, with more than 900% improvement in Young's modulus for TiO2-reinforced PVA hydrogel. Furthermore, incorporating TiO2 nanoparticles enhanced hydrogel stability but did not affect the biodegradation of organic pollutants in wastewater. These results suggest that the PVA-TiO2 hydrogel has the potential to be used as an effective carrier for biomass immobilization and wastewater treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riham Surkatti
- Gas Processing Center, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands
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6
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Chen LM, Beck P, van Ede J, Pronk M, van Loosdrecht MCM, Lin Y. Anionic extracellular polymeric substances extracted from seawater-adapted aerobic granular sludge. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2024; 108:144. [PMID: 38231410 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-023-12954-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
Anionic polymers, such as heparin, have been widely applied in the chemical and medical fields, particularly for binding proteins (e.g., fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) and histones). However, the current animal-based production of heparin brings great risks, including resource shortages and product contamination. Recently, anionic compounds, nonulosonic acids (NulOs), and sulfated glycoconjugates were discovered in the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of aerobic granular sludge (AGS). Given the prevalence of anionic polymers, in marine biofilms, it was hypothesized that the EPS from AGS grown under seawater condition could serve as a raw material for producing the alternatives to heparin. This study aimed to isolate and enrich the anionic fractions of EPS and evaluate their potential application in the chemical and medical fields. The AGS was grown in a lab-scale reactor fed with acetate, under the seawater condition (35 g/L sea salt). The EPS was extracted with an alkaline solution at 80 °C and fractionated by size exclusion chromatography. Its protein binding capacity was evaluated by native gel electrophoresis. It was found that the two highest molecular weight fractions (438- > 14,320 kDa) were enriched with NulO and sulfate-containing glycoconjugates. The enriched fractions can strongly bind the two histones involved in sepsis and a model protein used for purification by heparin-column. These findings demonstrated possibilities for the application of the extracted EPS and open up a novel strategy for resource recovery. KEY POINTS: • High MW EPS from seawater-adapted AGS are dominant with sulfated groups and NulOs • Fifty-eight percent of the EPS is high MW of 68-14,320 kDa • EPS and its fractions can bind histones and fibroblast growth factor 2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Le Min Chen
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629, HZ, Delft, The Netherlands.
| | - Paula Beck
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629, HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Jitske van Ede
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629, HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Mario Pronk
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629, HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
- Royal HaskoningDHV, Laan 1914 35, Amersfoort, 3800, AL, The Netherlands
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629, HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Yuemei Lin
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629, HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
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7
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Chen LM, Keisham S, Tateno H, van Ede J, Pronk M, van Loosdrecht MCM, Lin Y. Alterations of Glycan Composition in Aerobic Granular Sludge during the Adaptation to Seawater Conditions. ACS ES T Water 2024; 4:279-286. [PMID: 38229592 PMCID: PMC10788855 DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.3c00625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
Bacteria can synthesize a diverse array of glycans, being found attached to proteins and lipids or as loosely associated polysaccharides to the cells. The major challenge in glycan analysis in environmental samples lies in developing high-throughput and comprehensive characterization methodologies to elucidate the structure and monitor the change of the glycan profile, especially in protein glycosylation. To this end, in the current research, the dynamic change of the glycan profile of a few extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) samples was investigated by high-throughput lectin microarray and mass spectrometry, as well as sialylation and sulfation analysis. Those EPS were extracted from aerobic granular sludge collected at different stages during its adaptation to the seawater condition. It was found that there were glycoproteins in all of the EPS samples. In response to the exposure to seawater, the amount of glycoproteins and their glycan diversity displayed an increase during adaptation, followed by a decrease once the granules reached a stable state of adaptation. Information generated sheds light on the approaches to identify and monitor the diversity and dynamic alteration of the glycan profile of the EPS in response to environmental stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Le Min Chen
- Department
of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Sunanda Keisham
- Cellular
and Molecular Biotechnology Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
(AIST), Central 6, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Tateno
- Cellular
and Molecular Biotechnology Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
(AIST), Central 6, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan
| | - Jitske van Ede
- Department
of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Mario Pronk
- Department
of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
- Royal
HaskoningDHV, Laan 1914
35, Amersfoort 3800 AL, The Netherlands
| | - Mark C. M. van Loosdrecht
- Department
of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Yuemei Lin
- Department
of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
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8
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Sorokin DY, Tikhonova TV, Koch H, van den Berg EM, Hinderks RS, Pabst M, Dergousova NI, Solovevac AY, Kuenen GJ, Popov VO, van Loosdrecht MCM, Lücker S. Correction: Trichlorobacter ammonificans, a dedicated acetate-dependent ammonifier with a novel module for dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia. ISME J 2024; 18:wrad018. [PMID: 38365262 PMCID: PMC10811743 DOI: 10.1093/ismejo/wrad018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
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9
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Corbera-Rubio F, Stouten GR, Bruins J, Dost SF, Merkel AY, Müller S, van Loosdrecht MCM, van Halem D, Laureni M. " Candidatus Siderophilus nitratireducens": a putative nap-dependent nitrate-reducing iron oxidizer within the new order Siderophiliales. ISME Commun 2024; 4:ycae008. [PMID: 38577582 PMCID: PMC10993476 DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycae008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
Nitrate leaching from agricultural soils is increasingly found in groundwater, a primary source of drinking water worldwide. This nitrate influx can potentially stimulate the biological oxidation of iron in anoxic groundwater reservoirs. Nitrate-dependent iron-oxidizing (NDFO) bacteria have been extensively studied in laboratory settings, yet their ecophysiology in natural environments remains largely unknown. To this end, we established a pilot-scale filter on nitrate-rich groundwater to elucidate the structure and metabolism of nitrate-reducing iron-oxidizing microbiomes under oligotrophic conditions mimicking natural groundwaters. The enriched community stoichiometrically removed iron and nitrate consistently with the NDFO metabolism. Genome-resolved metagenomics revealed the underlying metabolic network between the dominant iron-dependent denitrifying autotrophs and the less abundant organoheterotrophs. The most abundant genome belonged to a new Candidate order, named Siderophiliales. This new species, "Candidatus Siderophilus nitratireducens," carries genes central genes to iron oxidation (cytochrome c cyc2), carbon fixation (rbc), and for the sole periplasmic nitrate reductase (nap). Using thermodynamics, we demonstrate that iron oxidation coupled to nap based dissimilatory reduction of nitrate to nitrite is energetically favorable under realistic Fe3+/Fe2+ and NO3-/NO2- concentration ratios. Ultimately, by bridging the gap between laboratory investigations and nitrate real-world conditions, this study provides insights into the intricate interplay between nitrate and iron in groundwater ecosystems, and expands our understanding of NDFOs taxonomic diversity and ecological role.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gerben R Stouten
- Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, the Netherlands
| | | | - Simon F Dost
- WMD Water Company Drenthe, Lauwers 3, 9405 BL Assen, the Netherlands
| | - Alexander Y Merkel
- Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Research Center of Biotechnology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 60 let Oktjabrja pr-t, 7, bld. 2, 117312 Moscow, Russia
| | - Simon Müller
- Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, the Netherlands
| | | | - Doris van Halem
- Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Michele Laureni
- Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, the Netherlands
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10
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Elahinik A, Li L, Pabst M, Abbas B, Xevgenos D, van Loosdrecht MCM, Pronk M. Aerobic granular sludge phosphate removal using glucose. Water Res 2023; 247:120776. [PMID: 37898002 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/30/2023]
Abstract
Enhanced biological phosphate removal and aerobic sludge granulation are commonly studied with fatty acids as substrate. Fermentative substrates such as glucose have received limited attention. In this work, glucose conversion by aerobic granular sludge and its impact on phosphate removal was studied. Long-term stable phosphate removal and successful granulation were achieved. Glucose was rapidly taken up (273 mg/gVSS/h) at the start of the anaerobic phase, while phosphate was released during the full anaerobic phase. Some lactate was produced during glucose consumption, which was anaerobically consumed once glucose was depleted. The phosphate release appeared to be directly proportional to the uptake of lactate. The ratio of phosphorus released to glucose carbon taken up over the full anaerobic phase was 0.25 Pmol/Cmol. Along with glucose and lactate uptake in the anaerobic phase, poly‑hydroxy-alkanoates and glycogen storage were observed. There was a linear correlation between glucose consumption and lactate formation. While lactate accounted for approximately 89 % of the observed products in the bulk liquid, minor quantities of formate (5 %), propionate (4 %), and acetate (3 %) were also detected (mass fraction). Formate was not consumed anaerobically. Quantitative fluorescence in-situ hybridization (qFISH) revealed that polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAO) accounted for 61 ± 15 % of the total biovolume. Metagenome evaluation of the biomass indicated a high abundance of Micropruina and Ca. Accumulibacter in the system, which was in accordance with the microscopic observations and the protein mass fraction from metaproteome analysis. Anaerobic conversions were evaluated based on theoretical ATP balances to provide the substrate distribution amongst the dominant genera. This research shows that aerobic granular sludge technology can be applied to glucose-containing effluents and that glucose is a suitable substrate for achieving phosphate removal. The results also show that for fermentable substrates a microbial community consisting of fermentative organisms and PAO develop.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Elahinik
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629HZ, the Netherlands.
| | - Linghang Li
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Martin Pabst
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Ben Abbas
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Dimitrios Xevgenos
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Mario Pronk
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629HZ, the Netherlands; Royal HaskoningDHV, Laan 1914 no 35, Amersfoort 3800AL, the Netherlands
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11
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Kleikamp HBC, Grouzdev D, Schaasberg P, van Valderen R, van der Zwaan R, Wijgaart RVD, Lin Y, Abbas B, Pronk M, van Loosdrecht MCM, Pabst M. Metaproteomics, metagenomics and 16S rRNA sequencing provide different perspectives on the aerobic granular sludge microbiome. Water Res 2023; 246:120700. [PMID: 37866247 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023]
Abstract
The tremendous progress in sequencing technologies has made DNA sequencing routine for microbiome studies. Additionally, advances in mass spectrometric techniques have extended conventional proteomics into the field of microbial ecology. However, systematic studies that provide a better understanding of the complementary nature of these 'omics' approaches, particularly for complex environments such as wastewater treatment sludge, are urgently needed. Here, we describe a comparative metaomics study on aerobic granular sludge from three different wastewater treatment plants. For this, we employed metaproteomics, whole metagenome, and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to study the same granule material with uniform size. We furthermore compare the taxonomic profiles using the Genome Taxonomy Database (GTDB) to enhance the comparability between the different approaches. Though the major taxonomies were consistently identified in the different aerobic granular sludge samples, the taxonomic composition obtained by the different omics techniques varied significantly at the lower taxonomic levels, which impacts the interpretation of the nutrient removal processes. Nevertheless, as demonstrated by metaproteomics, the genera that were consistently identified in all techniques cover the majority of the protein biomass. The established metaomics data and the contig classification pipeline are publicly available, which provides a valuable resource for further studies on metabolic processes in aerobic granular sludge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugo B C Kleikamp
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands.
| | | | - Pim Schaasberg
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Ramon van Valderen
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Ramon van der Zwaan
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Roel van de Wijgaart
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Yuemei Lin
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Ben Abbas
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Mario Pronk
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
| | | | - Martin Pabst
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands.
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12
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Ahmadi N, Abbasi M, Torabian A, van Loosdrecht MCM, Ducoste J. Biotransformation of micropollutants in moving bed biofilm reactors under heterotrophic and autotrophic conditions. J Hazard Mater 2023; 460:132232. [PMID: 37690201 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
We investigated the transformation of four pharmaceuticals (Diclofenac, Naproxen, Ibuprofen and Carbamazepine) in a moving bed biofilm reactor subjected to different COD/N ratios in four experimental phases. The shift from medium to high range COD/N ratio (i.e., 5:1 to 100:1) intensified the competition between heterotrophs and nitrifying communities, leading to a transition from co-existence of heterotrophic and autotrophic conditions with high COD removal and nitrification rate in phase I to dominant heterotrophic conditions in phase II. At lower range COD/N ratios (i.e., 1:2 and 1:8) in phase III and IV, autotrophic conditions prevailed, resulting in increased nitrification rates and high abundance of amoA gene in the biofilm. Such shifts in the operating condition were accompanied by notable changes in the biofilm concentrations, composition and abundance of microbial populations as well as biodiversity in the biofilms, which collectively affected the degradation rates of the pharmaceuticals. We observed higher kinetic rates per unit of biofilm concentration under autotrophic conditions compared to heterotrophic conditions for all compounds except Naproxen, indicating the importance of nitrification in the transformation of such compounds. The results also revealed a positive relationship between biodiversity and biomass-normalized kinetic rates of most compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Navid Ahmadi
- School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Mona Abbasi
- School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Torabian
- School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629Hz Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Joel Ducoste
- Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
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13
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Moradi N, Vazquez CL, Hernandez HG, Brdjanovic D, van Loosdrecht MCM, Rincón FR. Removal of contaminants of emerging concern from the supernatant of anaerobically digested sludge by O 3 and O 3/H 2O 2: Ozone requirements, effects of the matrix, and toxicity. Environ Res 2023; 235:116597. [PMID: 37442255 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2023] [Revised: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Abstract
Digestate is a rich source of nutrients that can be applied in agricultural fields as fertilizer or irrigation water. However, most of the research about application of digestate have focused on its agronomic properties and neglected the potential harm of the presence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). Aadvanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have proved to be effective for removing these compounds from drinking water, yet there are some constrains to treat wastewater and digestate mainly due to their complex matrix. In this study, the feasibility to remove different CECs from digestate using O3 and O3/H2O2 was assessed, and the general effect of the matrix in the oxidation was explained. While the lab-scale ozonation provided an ozone dose of 1.49 mg O3/mg DOC in 5 h treatment, almost all the compounds were removed at a lower ozone dose of maximum 0.48 mg O3/mg DOC; only ibuprofen required a higher dose of 1.1 mg O3/mg DOC to be oxidized. The digestate matrix slowed down the kinetic ozonation rate to approximately 1% compared to the removal rate in demineralized water. The combined treatment (O3/H2O2) showed the additional contribution of H2O2 by decreasing the ozone demand by 59-75% for all the compounds. The acute toxicity of the digestate, measured by the inhibition of Vibrio fisheries luminescence, decreased by 18.1% during 5 h ozonation, and by 34% during 5 h O3/H2O2 treatment. Despite the high ozone consumption, the ozone dose (mg O3/mg DOC) required to remove all CECs from digestate supernatant was in the range or lower than what has been reported for other (waste-)water matrix, implying that ozonation can be considered as a post-AD treatment to produce cleaner stream for agricultural purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nazanin Moradi
- Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering Department, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, the Netherlands; Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, the Netherlands.
| | - Carlos Lopez Vazquez
- Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering Department, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Hector Garcia Hernandez
- Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering Department, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Damir Brdjanovic
- Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering Department, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, the Netherlands; Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Francisco Rubio Rincón
- Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering Department, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, the Netherlands
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14
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Sorokin DY, Tikhonova TV, Koch H, van den Berg EM, Hinderks RS, Pabst M, Dergousova NI, Soloveva AY, Kuenen GJ, Popov VO, van Loosdrecht MCM, Lücker S. Trichlorobacter ammonificans, a dedicated acetate-dependent ammonifier with a novel module for dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia. ISME J 2023; 17:1639-1648. [PMID: 37443340 PMCID: PMC10504241 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-023-01473-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Abstract
Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia (DNRA) is a common biochemical process in the nitrogen cycle in natural and man-made habitats, but its significance in wastewater treatment plants is not well understood. Several ammonifying Trichlorobacter strains (former Geobacter) were previously enriched from activated sludge in nitrate-limited chemostats with acetate as electron (e) donor, demonstrating their presence in these systems. Here, we isolated and characterized the new species Trichlorobacter ammonificans strain G1 using a combination of low redox potential and copper-depleted conditions. This allowed purification of this DNRA organism from competing denitrifiers. T. ammonificans is an extremely specialized ammonifier, actively growing only with acetate as e-donor and carbon source and nitrate as e-acceptor, but H2 can be used as an additional e-donor. The genome of G1 does not encode the classical ammonifying modules NrfAH/NrfABCD. Instead, we identified a locus encoding a periplasmic nitrate reductase immediately followed by an octaheme cytochrome c that is conserved in many Geobacteraceae species. We purified this octaheme cytochrome c protein (TaNiR), which is a highly active dissimilatory ammonifying nitrite reductase loosely associated with the cytoplasmic membrane. It presumably interacts with two ferredoxin subunits (NapGH) that donate electrons from the menaquinol pool to the periplasmic nitrate reductase (NapAB) and TaNiR. Thus, the Nap-TaNiR complex represents a novel type of highly functional DNRA module. Our results indicate that DNRA catalyzed by octaheme nitrite reductases is a metabolic feature of many Geobacteraceae, representing important community members in various anaerobic systems, such as rice paddy soil and wastewater treatment facilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dimitry Y Sorokin
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.
- Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Research Centre of Biotechnology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.
| | - Tamara V Tikhonova
- Bach Institute of Biochemistry, Research Centre of Biotechnology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Hanna Koch
- Department of Microbiology, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Renske S Hinderks
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Martin Pabst
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Natalia I Dergousova
- Bach Institute of Biochemistry, Research Centre of Biotechnology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Anastasia Y Soloveva
- Bach Institute of Biochemistry, Research Centre of Biotechnology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Gijs J Kuenen
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Vladimir O Popov
- Bach Institute of Biochemistry, Research Centre of Biotechnology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Sebastian Lücker
- Department of Microbiology, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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15
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Chen LM, de Bruin S, Pronk M, Sousa DZ, van Loosdrecht MCM, Lin Y. Sialylation and Sulfation of Anionic Glycoconjugates Are Common in the Extracellular Polymeric Substances of Both Aerobic and Anaerobic Granular Sludges. Environ Sci Technol 2023; 57:13217-13225. [PMID: 37604486 PMCID: PMC10483923 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c09586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023]
Abstract
Anaerobic and aerobic granular sludge processes are widely applied in wastewater treatment. In these systems, microorganisms grow in dense aggregates due to the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). This study investigates the sialylation and sulfation of anionic glyconconjugates in anaerobic and aerobic granular sludges collected from full-scale wastewater treatment processes. Size exclusion chromatography revealed a wide molecular weight distribution (3.5 to >5500 kDa) of the alkaline-extracted EPS. The high-molecular weight fraction (>5500 kDa), comprising 16.9-27.4% of EPS, was dominant with glycoconjugates. Mass spectrometry analysis and quantification assays identified nonulosonic acids (NulOs, e.g., bacterial sialic acids) and sulfated groups contributing to the negative charge in all EPS fractions. NulOs were predominantly present in the high-molecular weight fraction (47.2-84.3% of all detected NulOs), while sulfated glycoconjugates were distributed across the molecular weight fractions. Microorganisms, closely related to genera found in the granular sludge communities, contained genes responsible for NulO and sulfate group synthesis or transfer. The similar distribution patterns of sialylation and sulfation of the anionic glycoconjugates in the EPS samples indicate that these two glycoconjugate modifications commonly occur in the EPS of aerobic and anaerobic granular sludges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Le Min Chen
- Department
of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Stefan de Bruin
- Department
of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Mario Pronk
- Department
of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands
- Royal
HaskoningDHV, Laan 1914
35, Amersfoort 3800 AL, The Netherlands
| | - Diana Z. Sousa
- Laboratory
of Microbiology, Wageningen University &
Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Mark C. M. van Loosdrecht
- Department
of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Yuemei Lin
- Department
of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands
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16
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de Jong SI, Sorokin DY, van Loosdrecht MCM, Pabst M, McMillan DGG. Membrane proteome of the thermoalkaliphile Caldalkalibacillus thermarum TA2.A1. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1228266. [PMID: 37577439 PMCID: PMC10416648 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1228266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Proteomics has greatly advanced the understanding of the cellular biochemistry of microorganisms. The thermoalkaliphile Caldalkalibacillus thermarum TA2.A1 is an organism of interest for studies into how alkaliphiles adapt to their extreme lifestyles, as it can grow from pH 7.5 to pH 11. Within most classes of microbes, the membrane-bound electron transport chain (ETC) enables a great degree of adaptability and is a key part of metabolic adaptation. Knowing what membrane proteins are generally expressed is crucial as a benchmark for further studies. Unfortunately, membrane proteins are the category of proteins hardest to detect using conventional cellular proteomics protocols. In part, this is due to the hydrophobicity of membrane proteins as well as their general lower absolute abundance, which hinders detection. Here, we performed a combination of whole cell lysate proteomics and proteomics of membrane extracts solubilised with either SDS or FOS-choline-12 at various temperatures. The combined methods led to the detection of 158 membrane proteins containing at least a single transmembrane helix (TMH). Within this data set we revealed a full oxidative phosphorylation pathway as well as an alternative NADH dehydrogenase type II (Ndh-2) and a microaerophilic cytochrome oxidase ba3. We also observed C. thermarum TA2.A1 expressing transporters for ectoine and glycine betaine, compounds that are known osmolytes that may assist in maintaining a near neutral internal pH when the external pH is highly alkaline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel I. de Jong
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
| | - Dimitry Y. Sorokin
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
- Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Research Centre of Biotechnology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Martin Pabst
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
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17
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Li X, Liu H, Gao L, Sherchan SP, Zhou T, Khan SJ, van Loosdrecht MCM, Wang Q. Wastewater-based epidemiology predicts COVID-19-induced weekly new hospital admissions in over 150 USA counties. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4548. [PMID: 37507407 PMCID: PMC10382499 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40305-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Although the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) emergency status is easing, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect healthcare systems globally. It is crucial to have a reliable and population-wide prediction tool for estimating COVID-19-induced hospital admissions. We evaluated the feasibility of using wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) to predict COVID-19-induced weekly new hospitalizations in 159 counties across 45 states in the United States of America (USA), covering a population of nearly 100 million. Using county-level weekly wastewater surveillance data (over 20 months), WBE-based models were established through the random forest algorithm. WBE-based models accurately predicted the county-level weekly new admissions, allowing a preparation window of 1-4 weeks. In real applications, periodically updated WBE-based models showed good accuracy and transferability, with mean absolute error within 4-6 patients/100k population for upcoming weekly new hospitalization numbers. Our study demonstrated the potential of using WBE as an effective method to provide early warnings for healthcare systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuan Li
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Huan Liu
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Li Gao
- South East Water, 101 Wells Street, Frankston, VIC, 3199, Australia
| | - Samendra P Sherchan
- Department of Biology, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Ting Zhou
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Stuart J Khan
- Water Research Centre, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 67, 2628 BC, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Qilin Wang
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, 2007, Australia.
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18
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Yin X, Chen X, Jiang XT, Yang Y, Li B, Shum MHH, Lam TTY, Leung GM, Rose J, Sanchez-Cid C, Vogel TM, Walsh F, Berendonk TU, Midega J, Uchea C, Frigon D, Wright GD, Bezuidenhout C, Picão RC, Ahammad SZ, Nielsen PH, Hugenholtz P, Ashbolt NJ, Corno G, Fatta-Kassinos D, Bürgmann H, Schmitt H, Cha CJ, Pruden A, Smalla K, Cytryn E, Zhang Y, Yang M, Zhu YG, Dechesne A, Smets BF, Graham DW, Gillings MR, Gaze WH, Manaia CM, van Loosdrecht MCM, Alvarez PJJ, Blaser MJ, Tiedje JM, Topp E, Zhang T. Toward a Universal Unit for Quantification of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Environmental Samples. Environ Sci Technol 2023. [PMID: 37310875 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c00159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Surveillance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has been increasingly conducted in environmental sectors to complement the surveys in human and animal sectors under the "One-Health" framework. However, there are substantial challenges in comparing and synthesizing the results of multiple studies that employ different test methods and approaches in bioinformatic analysis. In this article, we consider the commonly used quantification units (ARG copy per cell, ARG copy per genome, ARG density, ARG copy per 16S rRNA gene, RPKM, coverage, PPM, etc.) for profiling ARGs and suggest a universal unit (ARG copy per cell) for reporting such biological measurements of samples and improving the comparability of different surveillance efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaole Yin
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Center for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, 99077 Hong Kong, China
| | - Xi Chen
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Center for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, 99077 Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiao-Tao Jiang
- Microbiome Research Centre, St George and Sutherland Clinical School, University of New South Wales, 2052 Sydney, Australia
| | - Ying Yang
- School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, 519082 Zhuhai, China
| | - Bing Li
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, F518055 Shenzhen, China
| | - Marcus Ho-Hin Shum
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, 999077 Hong Kong, China
| | - Tommy T Y Lam
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, 999077 Hong Kong, China
| | - Gabriel M Leung
- Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health, Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks, New Territories, 99077 Hong Kong, China
| | - Joan Rose
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 48824 Michigan, United States
| | - Concepcion Sanchez-Cid
- Environmental Microbial Genomics, CNRS UMR 5005 Laboratoire Ampère, École Centrale de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, Université de Lyon, 69130 Écully, France
| | - Timothy M Vogel
- Environmental Microbial Genomics, CNRS UMR 5005 Laboratoire Ampère, École Centrale de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, Université de Lyon, 69130 Écully, France
| | - Fiona Walsh
- Department of Biology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, R51 Co. Kildare, Ireland
| | - Thomas U Berendonk
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Technische Universität Dresden, Institute for Hydrobiology, 01217 Dresden, Germany
| | | | | | - Dominic Frigon
- Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill University, 817 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, H3A 0C3 Quebec, Canada
| | - Gerard D Wright
- Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, L8N 3Z5 Ontario, Canada
| | - Carlos Bezuidenhout
- Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management (UESM)-Microbiology, North-West University, 2531 Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Renata C Picão
- Medical Microbiology Department, Paulo de Góes Microbiology Institute of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, 21941-902 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Shaikh Z Ahammad
- Department of Biochemical Engineering & Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, 110016 New Delhi, India
| | - Per Halkjær Nielsen
- Center for Microbial Communities, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, 9210 Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Philip Hugenholtz
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072 Queensland, Australia
| | - Nicholas J Ashbolt
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, Bilinga, 4225 Queensland, Australia
| | - Gianluca Corno
- Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), Water Research Institute, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IRSA), 28922 Verbania, Italy
| | - Despo Fatta-Kassinos
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Nireas International Water Research Center, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Helmut Bürgmann
- Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 6047 Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
| | - Heike Schmitt
- Centre for Zoonoses and Environmental Microbiology-Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), 3721 Bilthoven, The Netherlands
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, 2628 Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Chang-Jun Cha
- Department of Systems Biotechnology and Center for Antibiotic Resistome, Chung-Ang University, 17546 Anseong, Republic of Korea
| | - Amy Pruden
- The Charles Edward Via, Jr., Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, 24060 Virginia, United States
| | - Kornelia Smalla
- Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics, 38104 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Eddie Cytryn
- Department of Soil Chemistry, Plant Nutrition and Microbiology, Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, The Volcani Institute, Agricultural Research Organization, 7528809 Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | - Yu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100085 Beijing, China
| | - Min Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100085 Beijing, China
| | - Yong-Guan Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 361021 Xiamen, China
| | - Arnaud Dechesne
- Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Barth F Smets
- Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark
| | - David W Graham
- School of Engineering, Newcastle University, NE1 7RU Newcastle Upon Tyne, U.K
| | - Michael R Gillings
- School of Natural Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, 2109 New South Wales, Australia
| | - William H Gaze
- University of Exeter Medical School, Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, TR10 9FE Cornwall, U.K
| | - Célia M Manaia
- Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF-Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina-Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Pedro J J Alvarez
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, 77005 Texas, United States
| | - Martin J Blaser
- Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers University, Piscataway, 08854 New Jersey, United States
| | - James M Tiedje
- Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 48824 Michigan, United States
| | - Edward Topp
- London Research and Development Centre (LRDC), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, N5V 4T3 Ontario, Canada
| | - Tong Zhang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Center for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, 99077 Hong Kong, China
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19
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Li J, Hao X, Shen Z, Wu Y, van Loosdrecht MCM. Low-temperature drying of waste activated sludge enhanced by agricultural biomass towards self-supporting incineration. Sci Total Environ 2023; 888:164200. [PMID: 37201843 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
A high moisture content of waste activated sludge (WAS) associated with a low calorific value needs to be deeply dried towards self-supporting incineration. On the other hand, thermal energy with low temperature exchanged from treated effluent has great potential for drying sludge. Unfortunately, low-temperature drying of sludge seems to be low in efficiency and long in drying time. For this reason, some agricultural biomass was added into WAS to improve the drying efficiency. The drying performance and sludge properties were analyzed and evaluated with this study. Experimental results demonstrated that wheat straw was the best in enhancing the drying performance. With only 20 % (DS/DS) of crushed wheat straw added, the average drying rate achieved up to 0.20 g water/g DS·min, much higher than 0.13 g water/g DS·min of the raw WAS. The drying time to the targeted moisture content (63 %) (for self-supporting incineration) was shortened to only 12 min, much lower than 21 min of the raw WAS. The analysis revealed that wheat straw could reduce the specific resistance of filtration (SRF) and increase the sludge filterability (X). Also, the sludge rheology, particle size distribution and SEM images could conclude that agricultural biomass played a positive role in skeleton builders, forming a mesh-like structure in sludge flocs. These special channels could obviously improve the transfer capacities of heat and water inside the sludge matrix and thus greatly increase the drying performance of WAS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji Li
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre of Future Urban Design, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, PR China
| | - Xiaodi Hao
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre of Future Urban Design, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, PR China.
| | - Zhan Shen
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre of Future Urban Design, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, PR China
| | - Yuanyuan Wu
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre of Future Urban Design, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, PR China; Beijing Capital Eco-Environment Protection Group Co., Ltd., Beijing 100044, PR China
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre of Future Urban Design, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, PR China; Dept. of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629, HZ, Delft, the Netherlands
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20
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Calderón-Franco D, Corbera-Rubio F, Cuesta-Sanz M, Pieterse B, de Ridder D, van Loosdrecht MCM, van Halem D, Laureni M, Weissbrodt DG. Microbiome, resistome and mobilome of chlorine-free drinking water treatment systems. Water Res 2023; 235:119905. [PMID: 36989799 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.119905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) are designed to remove physical, chemical, and biological contaminants. However, until recently, the role of DWTPs in minimizing the cycling of antibiotic resistance determinants has got limited attention. In particular, the risk of selecting antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) is largely overlooked in chlorine-free DWTPs where biological processes are applied. Here, we combined high-throughput quantitative PCR and metagenomics to analyze the abundance and dynamics of microbial communities, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) across the treatment trains of two chlorine-free DWTPs involving dune-based and reservoir-based systems. The microbial diversity of the water increased after all biological unit operations, namely rapid and slow sand filtration (SSF), and granular activated carbon filtration. Both DWTPs reduced the concentration of ARGs and MGEs in the water by circa 2.5 log gene copies mL-1, despite their relative increase in the disinfection sub-units (SSF in dune-based and UV treatment in reservoir-based DWTPs). The total microbial concentration was also reduced (2.5 log units), and none of the DWTPs enriched for bacteria containing genes linked to antibiotic resistance. Our findings highlight the effectiveness of chlorine-free DWTPs in supplying safe drinking water while reducing the concentration of antibiotic resistance determinants. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that monitors the presence and dynamics of antibiotic resistance determinants in chlorine-free DWTPs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Brent Pieterse
- Dunea, Utility for drinking water and nature conservancy, Plein van de Verenigde Naties 11-15, 2719 EG Zoetermeer, the Netherlands
| | - David de Ridder
- Evides Water Company N.V., Schaardijk 150, 3063 NH, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | | | | | - David G Weissbrodt
- Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands; Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, Division of Analysis and Control of Microbial Systems, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
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21
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Calderón-Franco D, van Loosdrecht MCM, Abeel T, Weissbrodt DG. Catch me if you can: capturing microbial community transformation by extracellular DNA using Hi-C sequencing. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 2023:10.1007/s10482-023-01834-z. [PMID: 37156983 DOI: 10.1007/s10482-023-01834-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
The transformation of environmental microorganisms by extracellular DNA is an overlooked mechanism of horizontal gene transfer and evolution. It initiates the acquisition of exogenous genes and propagates antimicrobial resistance alongside vertical and conjugative transfers. We combined mixed-culture biotechnology and Hi-C sequencing to elucidate the transformation of wastewater microorganisms with a synthetic plasmid encoding GFP and kanamycin resistance genes, in the mixed culture of chemostats exposed to kanamycin at concentrations representing wastewater, gut and polluted environments (0.01-2.5-50-100 mg L-1). We found that the phylogenetically distant Gram-negative Runella (102 Hi-C links), Bosea (35), Gemmobacter (33) and Zoogloea (24) spp., and Gram-positive Microbacterium sp. (90) were transformed by the foreign plasmid, under high antibiotic exposure (50 mg L-1). In addition, the antibiotic pressure shifted the origin of aminoglycoside resistance genes from genomic DNA to mobile genetic elements on plasmids accumulating in microorganisms. These results reveal the power of Hi-C sequencing to catch and surveil the transfer of xenogenetic elements inside microbiomes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Thomas Abeel
- Delft Bioinformatics Lab, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - David G Weissbrodt
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
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22
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van den Berg L, Pronk M, van Loosdrecht MCM, de Kreuk MK. Density measurements of aerobic granular sludge. Environ Technol 2023; 44:1985-1995. [PMID: 34904922 DOI: 10.1080/09593330.2021.2017492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 12/05/2021] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Granular sludge processes are frequently used in domestic and industrial wastewater treatment. The granule buoyant density and biomass density are important parameters for the design and operation of granular sludge reactors. Different methods to measure the granule density include the pycnometer method, the Percoll density gradient method, the dextran blue method, and the settling velocity method. In this study, a comparison was made between these four methods to measure granule density for granules from a full-scale granular sludge plant treating domestic sewage. The effect of salinity on granule density was assessed as well. Three out of the four evaluated methods yielded comparable results, with granule buoyant densities between 1025.7 and 1028.1 kg/m3 and granule biomass densities between 71.1 and 71.5 g/L (based on volatile suspended solids (VSS)). The settling velocity method clearly underestimated the granule density, due to the complex relation between granule properties and settling velocity. The pycnometer method was the most precise method, but it was also quite susceptible to bias. The granule buoyant density increased proportionally with salinity, to 1049.2 kg/m3 at 36 g/L salinity. However, the granule biomass density, based on VSS, remained constant. This showed that the granule volume was not affected by salinity and that the buoyant density increase was the result of diffusion of salts into the granule pores. Overall, the granule density can be measured reliably with most methods, as long as the effect of salinity is considered. The results are discussed in light of operational aspects for full-scale granular sludge plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lenno van den Berg
- Department of Water Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Mario Pronk
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
- Royal HaskoningDHV, Amersfoort, the Netherlands
| | | | - Merle K de Kreuk
- Department of Water Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
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23
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Li Z, Wang J, Liu J, Chen X, Lei Z, Yuan T, Shimizu K, Zhang Z, Lee DJ, Lin Y, Adachi Y, van Loosdrecht MCM. Highly efficient carbon assimilation and nitrogen/phosphorus removal facilitated by photosynthetic O 2 from algal-bacterial aerobic granular sludge under controlled DO/pH operation. Water Res 2023; 238:120025. [PMID: 37156104 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Revised: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Reducing CO2 emission and energy consumption is crucial for the sustainable management of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In this study, an algal-bacterial aerobic granular sludge (AGS) system was developed for efficient carbon (C) assimilation and nitrogen (N)/phosphorus (P) removal without the need for mechanical aeration. The photosynthetic O2 production by phototrophic organisms maintained the dissolved oxygen (DO) level at 3-4 mg/L in the bulk liquid, and an LED light control system reduced 10-30% of light energy consumption. Results showed that the biomass assimilated 52% of input dissolved total carbon (DTC), and the produced O2 simultaneously facilitated aerobic nitrification and P uptake with the coexisting phototrophs serving as a C fixer and O2 supplier. This resulted in a stably high total N removal of 81 ± 7% and an N assimilation rate of 7.55 mg/(g-MLVSS∙d) with enhanced microbial assimilation and simultaneous nitrification/denitrification. Good P removal of 92-98% was maintained during the test period at a molar ∆P/∆C ratio of 0.36 ± 0.03 and high P release and uptake rates of 10.84 ± 0.41 and 7.18 ± 0.24 mg/(g- MLVSS∙h), respectively. Photosynthetic O2 was more advantageous for N and P removal than mechanical aeration. This proposed system can contribute to a better design and sustainable operation of WWTPs using algal-bacterial AGS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zejiao Li
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
| | - Jixiang Wang
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
| | - Jialin Liu
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
| | - Xingyu Chen
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
| | - Zhongfang Lei
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan.
| | - Tian Yuan
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
| | - Kazuya Shimizu
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan; Faculty of Life Sciences, Toyo University, 1-1-1 Izumino, Oura-gun Itakura, Gunma 374-0193, Japan
| | - Zhenya Zhang
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
| | - Duu-Jong Lee
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tang, Hong Kong; Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Yuan Ze University, Chung-Li 32003Taiwan
| | - Yuemei Lin
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, HZ, Delft 2629, the Netherlands
| | - Yasuhisa Adachi
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, HZ, Delft 2629, the Netherlands
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24
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Corbera-Rubio F, Laureni M, Koudijs N, Müller S, van Alen T, Schoonenberg F, Lücker S, Pabst M, van Loosdrecht MCM, van Halem D. Meta-omics profiling of full-scale groundwater rapid sand filters explains stratification of iron, ammonium and manganese removals. Water Res 2023; 233:119805. [PMID: 36868119 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.119805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Rapid sand filters (RSF) are an established and widely applied technology for groundwater treatment. Yet, the underlying interwoven biological and physical-chemical reactions controlling the sequential removal of iron, ammonia and manganese remain poorly understood. To resolve the contribution and interactions between the individual reactions, we studied two full-scale drinking water treatment plant configurations, namely (i) one dual-media (anthracite and quartz sand) filter and (ii) two single-media (quartz sand) filters in series. In situ and ex situ activity tests were combined with mineral coating characterization and metagenome-guided metaproteomics along the depth of each filter. Both plants exhibited comparable performances and process compartmentalization, with most of ammonium and manganese removal occurring only after complete iron depletion. The homogeneity of the media coating and genome-based microbial composition within each compartment highlighted the effect of backwashing, namely the complete vertical mixing of the filter media. In stark contrast to this homogeneity, the removal of the contaminants was strongly stratified within each compartment, and decreased along the filter height. This apparent and longstanding conflict was resolved by quantifying the expressed proteome at different filter heights, revealing a consistent stratification of proteins catalysing ammonia oxidation and protein-based relative abundances of nitrifying genera (up to 2 orders of magnitude difference between top and bottom samples). This implies that microorganisms adapt their protein pool to the available nutrient load at a faster rate than the backwash mixing frequency. Ultimately, these results show the unique and complementary potential of metaproteomics to understand metabolic adaptations and interactions in highly dynamic ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michele Laureni
- Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, HZ Delft 2629, The Netherlands.
| | - Nienke Koudijs
- Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, HZ Delft 2629, The Netherlands
| | - Simon Müller
- Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, HZ Delft 2629, The Netherlands
| | - Theo van Alen
- Department of Microbiology, RIBES, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, AJ Nijmegen 6525, The Netherlands
| | | | - Sebastian Lücker
- Department of Microbiology, RIBES, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, AJ Nijmegen 6525, The Netherlands
| | - Martin Pabst
- Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, HZ Delft 2629, The Netherlands
| | | | - Doris van Halem
- Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, HZ Delft 2629, The Netherlands
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25
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Hu ZY, Lin YP, Wang QT, Zhang YX, Tang J, Hong SD, Dai K, Wang S, Lu YZ, van Loosdrecht MCM, Wu J, Zeng RJ, Zhang F. Identification and degradation of structural extracellular polymeric substances in waste activated sludge via a polygalacturonate-degrading consortium. Water Res 2023; 233:119800. [PMID: 36868117 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.119800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
By maintaining the cell integrity of waste activated sludge (WAS), structural extracellular polymeric substances (St-EPS) resist WAS anaerobic fermentation. This study investigates the occurrence of polygalacturonate in WAS St-EPS by combining chemical and metagenomic analyses that identify ∼22% of the bacteria, including Ferruginibacter and Zoogloea, that are associated with polygalacturonate production using the key enzyme EC 5.1.3.6. A highly active polygalacturonate-degrading consortium (GDC) was enriched and the potential of this GDC for degrading St-EPS and promoting methane production from WAS was investigated. The percentage of St-EPS degradation increased from 47.6% to 85.2% after inoculation with the GDC. Methane production was also increased by up to 2.3 times over a control group, with WAS destruction increasing from 11.5% to 28.4%. Zeta potential and rheological behavior confirmed the positive effect which GDC has on WAS fermentation. The major genus in the GDC was identified as Clostridium (17.1%). Extracellular pectate lyases (EC 4.2.2.2 and 4.2.2.9), excluding polygalacturonase (EC 3.2.1.15), were observed in the metagenome of the GDC and most likely play a core role in St-EPS hydrolysis. Dosing with GDC provides a good biological method for St-EPS degradation and thereby enhances the conversion of WAS to methane.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi-Yi Hu
- Engineering Research Center of Soil Remediation of Fujian Province University, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Yi-Peng Lin
- Engineering Research Center of Soil Remediation of Fujian Province University, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Qing-Ting Wang
- Engineering Research Center of Soil Remediation of Fujian Province University, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Yi-Xin Zhang
- Engineering Research Center of Soil Remediation of Fujian Province University, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Jie Tang
- Engineering Research Center of Soil Remediation of Fujian Province University, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Si-Di Hong
- Engineering Research Center of Soil Remediation of Fujian Province University, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Kun Dai
- Engineering Research Center of Soil Remediation of Fujian Province University, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Shuai Wang
- Engineering Research Center of Soil Remediation of Fujian Province University, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Yong-Ze Lu
- School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 67, 2628 BC Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Jianrong Wu
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Raymond Jianxiong Zeng
- Engineering Research Center of Soil Remediation of Fujian Province University, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
| | - Fang Zhang
- Engineering Research Center of Soil Remediation of Fujian Province University, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
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26
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Tomás-Martínez S, Zwolsman EJ, Merlier F, Pabst M, Lin Y, van Loosdrecht MCM, Weissbrodt DG. Turnover of the extracellular polymeric matrix of granules performing biological phosphate removal. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2023; 107:1997-2009. [PMID: 36759376 PMCID: PMC10006046 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-023-12421-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
Polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) are responsible for enhanced biological phosphate removal (EBPR) from wastewater, where they grow embedded in a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). EPSs comprise a mixture of biopolymers like polysaccharides or (glyco)proteins. Despite previous studies, little is known about the dynamics of EPS in mixed cultures, and their production by PAOs and potential consumption by flanking microbes. EPSs are biodegradable and have been suggested to be a substrate for other organisms in the community. Studying EPS turnover can help elucidate their biosynthesis and biodegradation cycles. We analyzed the turnover of proteins and polysaccharides in the EPS of an enrichment culture of PAOs relative to the turnover of internal proteins. An anaerobic-aerobic sequencing batch reactor (SBR) simulating EBPR conditions was operated to enrich for PAOs. After achieving a stable culture, carbon source was switched to uniformly 13C-labeled acetate. Samples were collected at the end of each aerobic phase. EPSs were extracted by alkaline treatment. 13C enrichment in proteins and sugars (after hydrolysis of polysaccharides) in the extracted EPS were measured by mass spectrometry. The average turnover rate of sugars and proteins (0.167 and 0.192 d-1 respectively) was higher than the expected value based on the solid removal rate (0.132 d-1), and no significant difference was observed between intracellular and extracellular proteins. This indicates that EPS from the PAO enriched community is not selectively degraded by flanking populations under stable EBPR process conditions. Instead, we observed general decay of biomass, which corresponds to a value of 0.048 d-1. KEY POINTS: • Proteins showed a higher turnover rate than carbohydrates. • Turnover of EPS was similar to the turnover of intracellular proteins. • EPS is not preferentially consumed by flanking populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Tomás-Martínez
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9,2629, HZ, Delft, The Netherlands.
| | - Erwin J Zwolsman
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9,2629, HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Franck Merlier
- CNRS Enzyme and Cell Engineering Laboratory, Université de Technologie de Compiègne, Rue du Docteur Schweitzer, 60319, 60203, Compiègne Cedex, CS, France
| | - Martin Pabst
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9,2629, HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Yuemei Lin
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9,2629, HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9,2629, HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - David G Weissbrodt
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9,2629, HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
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27
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Wang X, Shi C, Hao X, van Loosdrecht MCM, Wu Y. Synergy of phosphate recovery from sludge-incinerated ash and coagulant production by desalinated brine. Water Res 2023; 231:119658. [PMID: 36708629 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.119658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Wet-chemical approach is widely applied for phosphate recovery from incinerated ash of waste activated sludge (WAS), along with metals removed/recovered. The high contents of both aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) in WAS-incinerated ash should be suitable for producing coagulants with some waste anions like Cl- and SO42- With acid (HCl) leaching and metals' removing, approximately 88 wt% of phosphorus (P) in the ash could be recovered as hydroxylapatite (HAP: Ca5(PO4)3OH); Fe3+ in the acidic leachate could be selectively removed/recovered by extraction with an organic solvent of tributyl phosphate (TBP), and thus a FeCl3-based coagulant could be synthesized by stripping the raffinate with the original brine (containing abundant Cl- and SO42-). Furthermore, a liquid poly-aluminum chloride (PAC)-based coagulant could also be synthesized with Al3+ removed from the ash and the brine, which behaved almost the same in the coagulation performance as a commercial coagulant on both phosphate and turbidity removals. Both P-recovery from the ash and coagulant production associated with the brine would enlarge the markets of both 'blue' phosphate and 'green' coagulants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangyang Wang
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Chen Shi
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Xiaodi Hao
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, China.
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, China; Dept. of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Yuanyuan Wu
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
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28
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Tsui TH, van Loosdrecht MCM, Dai Y, Tong YW. Machine learning and circular bioeconomy: Building new resource efficiency from diverse waste streams. Bioresour Technol 2023; 369:128445. [PMID: 36473583 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Biorefinery systems are playing pivotal roles in the technological support of resource efficiency for circular bioeconomy. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence presents great potential in handling scientific tasks of high-dimensional complexity. This review article scrutinizes the status of machine learning (ML) applications in four critical biorefinery systems (i.e. composting, fermentation, anaerobic digestion, and thermochemical conversions) as well as their advancements against traditional modeling techniques of mechanistic approach. The contents cover their algorithm selections, modeling challenges, and prospective improvements. Perspectives are sketched to further inform collective efforts on crucial aspects. The multidisciplinary interchange of modeling knowledge will enable a more progressive digital transformation of sustainability efforts in supporting sustainable development goals.
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Affiliation(s)
- To-Hung Tsui
- Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 1 Create Way, 138602, Singapore; Energy and Environmental Sustainability for Megacities (E2S2) Phase II, Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), 1 Create Way, Singapore, 138602, Singapore
| | | | - Yanjun Dai
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Yen Wah Tong
- Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 1 Create Way, 138602, Singapore; Energy and Environmental Sustainability for Megacities (E2S2) Phase II, Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), 1 Create Way, Singapore, 138602, Singapore; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 4, 117585, Singapore.
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29
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Tomás-Martínez S, Chen LM, Pabst M, Weissbrodt DG, van Loosdrecht MCM, Lin Y. Enrichment and application of extracellular nonulosonic acids containing polymers of Accumulibacter. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2023; 107:931-941. [PMID: 36484828 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-022-12326-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Pseudaminic and legionaminic acids are a subgroup of nonulosonic acids (NulOs) unique to bacterial species. There is a lack of advances in the study of these NulOs due to their complex synthesis and production. Recently, it was seen that "Candidatus Accumulibacter" can produce Pse or Leg analogues as part of its extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). In order to employ a "Ca. Accumulibacter" enrichment as production platform for bacterial sialic acids, it is necessary to determine which fractions of the EPS of "Ca. Accumulibacter" contain NulOs and how to enrich and/or isolate them. We extracted the EPS from granules enriched with "Ca. Accumulibcater" and used size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) to separate them into different molecular weight (MW) fractions. This separation resulted in two high molecular weight (> 5500 kDa) fractions dominated by polysaccharides, with a NulO content up to 4 times higher than the extracted EPS. This suggests that NulOs in "Ca. Accumulibacter" are likely located in high molecular weight polysaccharides. Additionally, it was seen that the extracted EPS and the NulO-rich fractions can bind and neutralize histones. This opens the possibility of EPS and NulO-rich fractions as potential source for sepsis treatment drugs. KEY POINTS: • NulOs in "Ca. Accumulibacter" are likely located in high MW polysaccharides • SEC allows to obtain high MW polysaccharide-rich fractions enriched with NulOs • EPS and the NulOs-rich fractions are a potential source for sepsis treatment drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Tomás-Martínez
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van Der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands.
| | - Le Min Chen
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van Der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Martin Pabst
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van Der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - David G Weissbrodt
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van Der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van Der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Yuemei Lin
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van Der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
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Ziliani A, Bovio-Winkler P, Cabezas A, Etchebehere C, Garcia HA, López-Vázquez CM, Brdjanovic D, van Loosdrecht MCM, Rubio-Rincón FJ. Putative metabolism of Ca. Accumulibacter via the utilization of glucose. Water Res 2023; 229:119446. [PMID: 36516560 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.119446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Ca. Accumulibacter was the predominant microorganism (relative FISH bio-abundance of 67 ± 5%) in a lab-scale sequential batch reactor that accomplished enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) while using glucose and acetate as the carbon sources (1:1 COD-based ratio). Both organic compounds were completely anaerobically consumed. The reactor's performance in terms of P/C ratio, phosphorous release and uptake, and overall kinetic and stoichiometric parameters were on the high end of the reported spectrum for EBPR systems (100:9.3 net mg phosphate removal per mg COD consumed when using glucose and acetate in a 1:1 ratio). The batch tests showed that, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a reactor enriched with Ca. Accumulibacter can putatively utilize glucose as the sole carbon source to biologically remove phosphate (COD:P (mg/mg) removal ratio of 100:6.3 when using only glucose). Thus, this research proposes that Ca. Accumulibacter directly anaerobically stored the fed glucose primarily as glycogen by utilizing the ATP provided via the hydrolysis of poly-P and secondarily as PHA by balancing its ATP utilization (glycogen generation) and formation (PHA storage). Alternative hypotheses are also discussed. The reported findings could challenge the conventional theories of glucose assimilation by Ca. Accumulibacter, and can be of significance for the biological removal of phosphorus from wastewaters with high contents of fermentable compounds or low VFAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agustina Ziliani
- Department of Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering, IHE Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, The Netherlands; Department of Environmental Microbiology, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
| | - Patricia Bovio-Winkler
- Laboratorio de Ecología Microbiana, Departamento de Bioquímica y Genómica Microbiana, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Angela Cabezas
- Instituto Tecnológico Regional Centro Sur, Universidad Tecnológica, Durazno, Uruguay
| | - Claudia Etchebehere
- Laboratorio de Ecología Microbiana, Departamento de Bioquímica y Genómica Microbiana, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Hector A Garcia
- Department of Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering, IHE Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Carlos M López-Vázquez
- Department of Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering, IHE Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Damir Brdjanovic
- Department of Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering, IHE Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, The Netherlands; Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 67, 2628BC Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 67, 2628BC Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Francisco J Rubio-Rincón
- Department of Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering, IHE Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, The Netherlands
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Páez-Watson T, van Loosdrecht MCM, Wahl SA. Predicting the impact of temperature on metabolic fluxes using resource allocation modelling: Application to polyphosphate accumulating organisms. Water Res 2023; 228:119365. [PMID: 36413834 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.119365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The understanding of microbial communities and the biological regulation of its members is crucial for implementation of novel technologies using microbial ecology. One poorly understood metabolic principle of microbial communities is resource allocation and biosynthesis. Resource allocation theory in polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) is limited as a result of their slow imposed growth rate (typical sludge retention times of at least 4 days) and limitations to quantify changes in biomass components over a 6 hours cycle (less than 10% of their growth). As a result, there is no direct evidence supporting that biosynthesis is an exclusive aerobic process in PAOs that alternate continuously between anaerobic and aerobic phases. Here, we apply resource allocation metabolic flux analysis to study the optimal phenotype of PAOs over a temperature range of 4 °C to 20 °C. The model applied in this research allowed to identify optimal metabolic strategies in a core metabolic model with limited constraints based on biological principles. The addition of a constraint limiting biomass synthesis to be an exclusive aerobic process changed the metabolic behaviour and improved the predictability of the model over the studied temperature range by closing the gap between prediction and experimental findings. The results validate the assumption of limited anaerobic biosynthesis in PAOs, specifically "Candidatus Accumulibacter" related species. Interestingly, the predicted growth yield was lower, suggesting that there are mechanistic barriers for anaerobic growth not yet understood nor reflected in the current models of PAOs. Moreover, we identified strategies of resource allocation applied by PAOs at different temperatures as a result of the decreased catalytic efficiencies of their biochemical reactions. Understanding resource allocation is paramount in the study of PAOs and their currently unknown complex metabolic regulation, and metabolic modelling based on biological first principles provides a useful tool to develop a mechanistic understanding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Páez-Watson
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands.
| | | | - S Aljoscha Wahl
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
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32
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Kosar S, Isik O, Cicekalan B, Gulhan H, Cingoz S, Yoruk M, Ozgun H, Koyuncu I, van Loosdrecht MCM, Ersahin ME. Coupling high-rate activated sludge process with aerobic granular sludge process for sustainable municipal wastewater treatment. J Environ Manage 2023; 325:116549. [PMID: 36419284 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2022] [Revised: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Achieving a neutral/positive energy balance without compromising discharge standards is one of the main goals of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in terms of sustainability. Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) technology promises high treatment performance with low energy and footprint requirement. In this study, high-rate activated sludge (HRAS) process was coupled to AGS process as an energy-efficient pre-treatment option in order to increase energy recovery from municipal wastewater and decrease the particulate matter load of AGS process. Three different feeding strategies were applied throughout the study. AGS system was fed with raw municipal wastewater, with the effluent of HRAS process, and with the mixture of the effluent of HRAS process and raw municipal wastewater at Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3, respectively. Total suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N), and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in the effluent were less than 10 mg/L, 60 mg/L, 0.4 mg/L, and 1.3 mg/L respectively at all stages. Fluctuations were observed in the denitrification performance due to changes in the influent COD/total nitrogen (TN) ratio. This study showed that coupling HRAS process with AGS process by feeding the AGS process with the mixture of HRAS process effluent and raw municipal wastewater could be an appropriate option for both increasing the energy recovery potential of WWTPs and enabling high effluent quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sadiye Kosar
- Istanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Ayazaga Campus, Maslak, 34469, Istanbul, Turkey.
| | - Onur Isik
- Istanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Ayazaga Campus, Maslak, 34469, Istanbul, Turkey; National Research Center on Membrane Technologies, Istanbul Technical University, 34469, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey; Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, Engineering and Architecture Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Onikisubat, 46100, Kahramanmaras, Turkey
| | - Busra Cicekalan
- Istanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Ayazaga Campus, Maslak, 34469, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Hazal Gulhan
- Istanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Ayazaga Campus, Maslak, 34469, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Seyma Cingoz
- ISKI, Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration, Eyup, 34060, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Mustafa Yoruk
- ISKI, Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration, Eyup, 34060, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Hale Ozgun
- Istanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Ayazaga Campus, Maslak, 34469, Istanbul, Turkey; National Research Center on Membrane Technologies, Istanbul Technical University, 34469, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Ismail Koyuncu
- Istanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Ayazaga Campus, Maslak, 34469, Istanbul, Turkey; National Research Center on Membrane Technologies, Istanbul Technical University, 34469, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Delft University of Technology, Department of Biotechnology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629, HZ, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Mustafa Evren Ersahin
- Istanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Ayazaga Campus, Maslak, 34469, Istanbul, Turkey; National Research Center on Membrane Technologies, Istanbul Technical University, 34469, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey
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33
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Elahinik A, Haarsma M, Abbas B, Pabst M, Xevgenos D, van Loosdrecht MCM, Pronk M. Glycerol conversion by aerobic granular sludge. Water Res 2022; 227:119340. [PMID: 36395566 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.119340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Glycerol is abundantly present in wastewater from industries such as biodiesel production facilities. Glycerol is also a potential carbon source for microbes that are involved in wastewater nutrient removal processes. The conversion of glycerol in biological phosphorus removal of aerobic granular sludge processes has not been explored to date. The current study describes glycerol utilization by aerobic granular sludge and enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). Robust granules with good phosphorus removal capabilities were formed in an aerobic granular sludge sequencing batch reactor fed with glycerol. The interaction between the fermentative conversion of glycerol and product uptake by polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAO) was studied using stoichiometric and microbial community analysis. Metagenomic, metaproteomic and microscopic analysis identified a community dominated by Actinobacteria (Tessaracoccus and Micropruina) and a typical PAO known as Ca. Accumulibacter. Glycerol uptake facilitator (glpF) and glycerol kinase (glpK), two proteins involved in the transport of glycerol into the cellular metabolism, were only observed in the genome of the Actinobacteria. The anaerobic conversion appeared to be a combination of a substrate fermentation and product uptake-type reaction. Initially, glycerol fermentation led mainly to the production of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) which was not taken up under anaerobic conditions. Despite the aerobic conversion of 1,3-PDO stable granulation was observed. Over time, 1,3-PDO production decreased and complete anaerobic COD uptake was observed. The results demonstrate that glycerol-containing wastewater can effectively be treated by the aerobic granular sludge process and that fermentative and polyphosphate accumulating organisms can form a food chain in glycerol-based EBPR processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Elahinik
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629HZ, Delft, The Netherlands.
| | - Maureen Haarsma
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Ben Abbas
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Martin Pabst
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Dimitrios Xevgenos
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Mario Pronk
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629HZ, Delft, The Netherlands; Royal HaskoningDHV, Laan 1914 no 35, 3800AL, Amersfoort, The Netherlands
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Hao X, Wang X, Shi C, van Loosdrecht MCM, Wu Y. Creating coagulants through the combined use of ash and brine. Sci Total Environ 2022; 845:157344. [PMID: 35842163 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Revised: 07/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Sludge incineration and seawater desalination are two approaches that can be used in the disposal of waste activated sludge (WAS) and for obtaining fresh water. As resource recovery from wastewater treatment and water purification is a topic of particular interest in these times, "water mining" has become a focus of research, with phosphate/P-recovery from WAS incineration ash, and extraction of useful elements from the brine of desalination being important steps in the pursuit of a circular/blue economy. However, P-recovery from ash involves removing metals, which need to be disposed of carefully, as does the brine collected. If cations in the ash and anions in the brine could be combined in order to produce coagulants/flocculants, a new circular model would be established. A preliminary experiment for this purpose has demonstrated that a liquid poly‑aluminum chloride (PAC) could be synthesized from the aluminum ion/Al3+ removed from the ash and the original brine. With this work, we synthesized the liquid PAC by a hydrothermal method, and the results from infrared spectrometer demonstrated that the synthesized PAC was similar to a commercial PAC. Moreover, the synthesized PAC was able to efficiently reduce the effluent turbidity of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), especially when compared with the commercial PAC. It is therefore important that research in this area be continued in order to improve the quality of synthesized coagulants and to produce different coagulants based on cations and anions in ash and brine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaodi Hao
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, PR China.
| | - Xiangyang Wang
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, PR China
| | - Chen Shi
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, PR China
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, PR China; Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629, HZ, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Yuanyuan Wu
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, PR China
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35
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Estévez-Alonso Á, Arias-Buendía M, Pei R, van Veelen HPJ, van Loosdrecht MCM, Kleerebezem R, Werker A. Calcium enhances polyhydroxyalkanoate production and promotes selective growth of the polyhydroxyalkanoate-storing biomass in municipal activated sludge. Water Res 2022; 226:119259. [PMID: 36323202 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.119259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Revised: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Activated sludge from municipal wastewater treatment processes can be used directly for the production of biodegradable polyesters from the family of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). However, municipal activated sludge typically cannot accumulate PHAs to very high levels and often low yields of polymer produced on substrate are observed. In the present work, it was found that the presence of calcium promotes selective growth and enrichment of the PHA-storing biomass fraction and significantly improved both PHA contents and yields. Calcium addition resulted in PHA contents of 0.60 ± 0.03 gPHA/gVSS and average PHA yields on substrate of 0.49 ± 0.03 gCODPHA/gCODHAc compared to 0.35 ± 0.01 gPHA/gVSS and 0.19 ± 0.01 gCODPHA/gCODHAc without calcium addition. After 48 h, three times more PHA was produced compared to control experiments without calcium addition. Higher PHA content and selective biomass production is proposed to be a consequence of calcium dependent increased levels of passive acetate uptake. Such more efficient substrate uptake could be related to a formation of calcium acetate complexes. Findings lead to bioprocess methods to stimulate a short-term selective growth of PHA-storing microorganisms and this enables improvements to the techno-economic feasibility for municipal waste activated sludge to become a generic resource for industrial scale PHA production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ángel Estévez-Alonso
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands; Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.
| | - María Arias-Buendía
- Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
| | - Ruizhe Pei
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands; Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
| | - H Pieter J van Veelen
- Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Robbert Kleerebezem
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Alan Werker
- Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
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36
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Chen X, Lee YJ, Yuan T, Lei Z, Adachi Y, Zhang Z, Lin Y, van Loosdrecht MCM. A review on recovery of extracellular biopolymers from flocculent and granular activated sludges: Cognition, key influencing factors, applications, and challenges. Bioresour Technol 2022; 363:127854. [PMID: 36067889 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Revised: 08/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
A reasonable recovery of excess sludge may shift the waste into wealth. Recently an increasing attention has been paid to the recycling of extracellular biopolymers from conventional and advanced biological wastewater treatment systems such as flocculent activated sludge (AS), bacterial aerobic granular sludge (AGS), and algal-bacterial AGS processes. This review provides the first overview of current research developments and future directions in the recovery and utilization of high value-added biopolymers from the three types of sludge. It details the discussion on the recent evolvement of cognition or updated knowledge on functional extracellular biopolymers, as well as a comprehensive summary of the operating conditions and wastewater parameters influencing the yield, quality, and functionality of alginate-like exopolymer (ALE). In addition, recent attempts for potential practical applications of extracellular biopolymers are discussed, suggesting research priorities for overcoming identification challenges and future prospects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingyu Chen
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
| | - Yu-Jen Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Tian Yuan
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
| | - Zhongfang Lei
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan.
| | - Yasuhisa Adachi
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
| | - Zhenya Zhang
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
| | - Yuemei Lin
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, the Netherlands
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37
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Estévez-Alonso Á, Altamira-Algarra B, Arnau-Segarra C, van Loosdrecht MCM, Kleerebezem R, Werker A. Process conditions affect properties and outcomes of polyhydroxyalkanoate accumulation in municipal activated sludge. Bioresour Technol 2022; 364:128035. [PMID: 36182016 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The developments of mixed culture polyhydroxyalkanoate production has been directed to maximize the biomass PHA content with limited attention to polymer quality. Direct comparison of PHA accumulation literature is challenging, and even regularly contradicting in reported results, due to underlying differences that are not well expressed. A study was undertaken to systematically compare the commonly reported process conditions for PHA accumulation by full-scale municipal activated sludge. A biomass acclimation step combined with a pulse-wise feeding strategy resulted in maximum average PHA contents and product yields. pH control and active nitrification did not result in observable effects on the PHA productivity. Under these conditions a high molecular weight polymer (1536 ± 221 kDa) can be produced. Polymer extraction recoveries were influenced by the PHA molecular weight. A standard protocol for an activated sludge PHA accumulation test including downstream processing and standardized extraction has been developed and is available as supplementary material.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ángel Estévez-Alonso
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands; Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911, MA, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.
| | - Beatriz Altamira-Algarra
- Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911, MA, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
| | - César Arnau-Segarra
- Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911, MA, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Robbert Kleerebezem
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Alan Werker
- Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911, MA, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
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Li J, Hao X, Gan W, van Loosdrecht MCM, Wu Y. Enhancing extraction of alginate like extracellular polymers (ALE) from flocculent sludge by surfactants. Sci Total Environ 2022; 837:155673. [PMID: 35508248 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Alginate like extracellular polymers (ALE) recovered from flocculent sludge has been identified as a kind of highly valuable biomaterials. However, the extraction protocols limit the production of biopolymers as ALE extracted from flocculent sludge is at a lower level, around 90-190 mg/g VSS. Under this circumstance, the eco-friendly and effective optimizations for the ALE extraction protocols are expected, and thus surfactants have gained an attention to enhancing the ALE extraction. With this study, different surfactants with different structures and chemical characteristics, such as sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and octyl phenyl polyoxyethylene ether (Triton X-100), were experimented to improve the ALE extraction, and in turn the optimal conditions and the associated mechanisms were evaluated and figured out. The experimental results indicated that surfactants could enhance the ALE extraction but also improve the alginate purification of ALE. With the optimal dosage of surfactants, the ALE extraction increased from 124.1 mg/g VSS to about 222.8-281.9 mg/g VSS, and the alginate purify was at around 54%-70%, in which the efficiency of the ALE extraction was improved by 79.5%-127.2%. Among others, Triton X-100 had the best performance on improving the ALE extraction, followed by CTAB and SDS. The mechanisms of surfactants on enhancing the ALE extraction and improving the alginate purify can be attributed to: i) surfactants micelles, which can solubilize flocs and extracellular biopolymers; ii) similar structures of surfactants and ALE, which follows the rule of "like dissolves like"; iii) functional groups adsorption, which facilitates the ALE release from matrixes. In a word, the optimized extraction protocol by using surfactants can be effectively applied to extract ALE from flocculent sludge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji Li
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre of Future Urban Design, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, PR China
| | - Xiaodi Hao
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre of Future Urban Design, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, PR China.
| | - Wei Gan
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre of Future Urban Design, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, PR China
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre of Future Urban Design, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, PR China; Dept. of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Yuanyuan Wu
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre of Future Urban Design, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, PR China
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39
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Hao X, Yu W, Yuan T, Wu Y, van Loosdrecht MCM. Unravelling key factors controlling vivianite formation during anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge. Water Res 2022; 223:118976. [PMID: 36001903 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.118976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
As a product of phosphorous recovery from anaerobic digestion (AD) of waste activated sludge (WAS), vivianite has received increasing attention. However, key factors controlling vivianite formation have not yet been fully addressed. Thus, this study was initiated to ascertain key factors controlling vivianite formation. A simulation of chemical equilibriums indicates that interfering ions such as metallic ions and inorganic compounds may affect vivianite formation, especially at a PO43-concentration lower than 3 mM. The experiments demonstrated that the rate of ferric bio-reduction conducted by dissimilatory metal-reducing bacteria (DMRB) and the competition of methane-producing bacteria (MPB) with DMRB for VFAs (acetate) were not the key factors controlling vivianite formation, and that ferric bio-reduction of DMRB can proceed when a sufficient amount of Fe3+ exists in WAS. The determined affinity constants (Ks) of both DMRB and MPB on acetate revealed that the KHAc constant (4.2 mmol/g VSS) of DMRB was almost 4 times lower than that of MPB (15.67 mmol/g VSS) and thus MPB could not seriously compete for VFAs (acetate) with DMRB. As a result, vivianite formation was controlled mainly by the amount of Fe3+ in WAS. In practice, a Fe/P molar ratio of 2:1 should be enough for vivianite formation in AD of WAS. Otherwise, exogenously dosing Fe3+ or Fe2+ into AD must be applied in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaodi Hao
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China.
| | - Wenbo Yu
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Tugui Yuan
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Yuanyuan Wu
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China; Dept. of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands
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40
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Pei R, Estévez-Alonso Á, Ortiz-Seco L, van Loosdrecht MCM, Kleerebezem R, Werker A. Exploring the Limits of Polyhydroxyalkanoate Production by Municipal Activated Sludge. Environ Sci Technol 2022; 56:11729-11738. [PMID: 35900322 PMCID: PMC9387092 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c03043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Municipal activated sludge can be used for polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production, when supplied with volatile fatty acids. In this work, standardized PHA accumulation assays were performed with different activated sludge to determine (1) the maximum biomass PHA content, (2) the degree of enrichment (or volume-to-volume ratio of PHA-accumulating bacteria with respect to the total biomass), and (3) the average PHA content in the PHA-storing biomass fraction. The maximum attained biomass PHA content with different activated sludge ranged from 0.18 to 0.42 gPHA/gVSS, and the degree of enrichment ranged from 0.16 to 0.51 volume/volume. The average PHA content within the PHA-accumulating biomass fraction was relatively constant and independent of activated sludge source, with an average value of 0.58 ± 0.07 gPHA/gVSS. The degree of enrichment for PHA-accumulating bacteria was identified as the key factor to maximize PHA content when municipal activated sludge is directly used for PHA accumulation. Future optimization should focus on obtaining a higher degree of enrichment of PHA-accumulating biomass, either through selection during wastewater treatment or by selective growth during PHA accumulation. A PHA content in the order of 0.6 g PHA/g VSS is a realistic target to be achieved when using municipal activated sludge for PHA production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruizhe Pei
- Department
of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
- Wetsus, European
Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water
Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
| | - Ángel Estévez-Alonso
- Department
of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
- Wetsus, European
Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water
Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
| | - Laura Ortiz-Seco
- Wetsus, European
Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water
Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
| | - Mark C. M. van Loosdrecht
- Department
of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Robbert Kleerebezem
- Department
of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Alan Werker
- Wetsus, European
Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water
Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
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Kosar S, Isik O, Cicekalan B, Gulhan H, Sagir Kurt E, Atli E, Basa S, Ozgun H, Koyuncu I, van Loosdrecht MCM, Ersahin ME. Impact of primary sedimentation on granulation and treatment performance of municipal wastewater by aerobic granular sludge process. J Environ Manage 2022; 315:115191. [PMID: 35526399 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Aerobic granules contain microorganisms that are responsible for carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus removal in aerobic granular sludge (AGS) process in which aerobic/anoxic/anaerobic layers (from surface to core) occur in a single granule. Optimizing the aerobic granular sludge (AGS) process for granulation and efficient nutrient removal can be challenging. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of settling prior to AGS process on granulation and treatment performance of the process. For this purpose, synthetic wastewater mimicking municipal wastewater was fed directly (Stage 1), and after primary sedimentation (Stage 2) to a laboratory-scale AGS system. In full-scale wastewater treatment plants, primary sedimentation is used to remove particulate organic matter and produce primary sludge which is sent to anaerobic digesters to produce biogas. Performances obtained in both stages were compared in terms of treatment efficiency, granule settling behavior, and granule morphology. Granulation was achieved in both stages with more than 92% chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiencies in each stage. High nutrient removal was obtained in Stage 1 since anaerobic phase was long enough (i.e., 50 min) to hydrolyze particulate matter to become available for PAOs. Primary sedimentation caused a decrease in influent organic load and COD/N ratio, as a result, low nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiencies were observed in Stage 2 compared to Stage 1. With this study, the effect of the primary sedimentation on the biological removal performance of AGS process was revealed. COD requirement for nutrient removal in AGS systems should be assessed by considering energy generation via biogas production from primary sedimentation sludge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sadiye Kosar
- Istanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Ayazaga Campus, Maslak, 34469, Istanbul, Turkey.
| | - Onur Isik
- Istanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Ayazaga Campus, Maslak, 34469, Istanbul, Turkey; National Research Center on Membrane Technologies, Istanbul Technical University, 34469, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Busra Cicekalan
- Istanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Ayazaga Campus, Maslak, 34469, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Hazal Gulhan
- Istanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Ayazaga Campus, Maslak, 34469, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Ece Sagir Kurt
- ISKI, Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration, Eyup, 34060, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Ezgi Atli
- ISKI, Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration, Eyup, 34060, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Safak Basa
- ISKI, Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration, Eyup, 34060, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Hale Ozgun
- Istanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Ayazaga Campus, Maslak, 34469, Istanbul, Turkey; National Research Center on Membrane Technologies, Istanbul Technical University, 34469, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Ismail Koyuncu
- Istanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Ayazaga Campus, Maslak, 34469, Istanbul, Turkey; National Research Center on Membrane Technologies, Istanbul Technical University, 34469, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Delft University of Technology, Department of Biotechnology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Mustafa Evren Ersahin
- Istanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Ayazaga Campus, Maslak, 34469, Istanbul, Turkey; National Research Center on Membrane Technologies, Istanbul Technical University, 34469, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey
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Kouba V, Hůrková K, Navrátilová K, Kok D, Benáková A, Laureni M, Vodičková P, Podzimek T, Lipovová P, van Niftrik L, Hajšlová J, van Loosdrecht MCM, Weissbrodt DG, Bartáček J. Effect of temperature on the compositions of ladderane lipids in globally surveyed anammox populations. Sci Total Environ 2022; 830:154715. [PMID: 35337864 PMCID: PMC7612979 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The adaptation of bacteria involved in anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) to low temperatures will enable more efficient removal of nitrogen from sewage across seasons. At lower temperatures, bacteria typically tune the synthesis of their membrane lipids to promote membrane fluidity. However, such adaptation of anammox bacteria lipids, including unique ladderane phospholipids and especially shorter ladderanes with absent phosphatidyl headgroup, is yet to be described in detail. We investigated the membrane lipids composition (UPLC-HRMS/MS) and dominant anammox populations (16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, Fluorescence in situ hybridization) in 14 anammox enrichments cultivated at 10-37 °C. "Candidatus Brocadia" appeared to be the dominant organism in all but two laboratory enrichments of "Ca. Scalindua" and "Ca. Kuenenia". At lower temperatures, the membranes of all anammox populations were composed of shorter [5]-ladderane ester (reduced chain length demonstrated by decreased fraction of C20/(C18 + C20)). This confirmed the previous preliminary evidence on the prominent role of this ladderane fatty acid in low-temperature adaptation. "Ca. Scalindua" and "Ca. Kuenenia" had distinct profile of ladderane lipids compared to "Ca. Brocadia" biomasses with potential implications for adaptability to low temperatures. "Ca. Brocadia" membranes contained a much lower amount of C18 [5]-ladderane esters than reported in the literature for "Ca. Scalindua" at similar temperature and measured here, suggesting that this could be one of the reasons for the dominance of "Ca. Scalindua" in cold marine environments. Furthermore, we propose additional and yet unreported mechanisms for low-temperature adaptation of anammox bacteria, one of which involves ladderanes with absent phosphatidyl headgroup. In sum, we deepen the understanding of cold anammox physiology by providing for the first time a consistent comparison of anammox-based communities across multiple environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vojtěch Kouba
- University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Department of Water Technology and Environmental Engineering, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague, Czechia.
| | - Kamila Hůrková
- University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Department of Food Analysis and Nutrition, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague, Czechia
| | - Klára Navrátilová
- University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Department of Food Analysis and Nutrition, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague, Czechia
| | - Dana Kok
- University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Department of Water Technology and Environmental Engineering, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague, Czechia
| | - Andrea Benáková
- University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Department of Water Technology and Environmental Engineering, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague, Czechia
| | - Michele Laureni
- TU Delft, Department of Biotechnology, Building 58, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands; TU Delft, Department of Water Management, Building 23, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Patricie Vodičková
- University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Department of Water Technology and Environmental Engineering, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague, Czechia; University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague, Czechia
| | - Tomáš Podzimek
- University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague, Czechia
| | - Petra Lipovová
- University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague, Czechia
| | - Laura van Niftrik
- Radboud University, Department of Microbiology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, 1Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 ED AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Jana Hajšlová
- University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Department of Food Analysis and Nutrition, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague, Czechia
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- TU Delft, Department of Biotechnology, Building 58, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands
| | - David Gregory Weissbrodt
- TU Delft, Department of Biotechnology, Building 58, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Jan Bartáček
- University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Department of Water Technology and Environmental Engineering, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague, Czechia
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43
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Calderón-Franco D, Sarelse R, Christou S, Pronk M, van Loosdrecht MCM, Abeel T, Weissbrodt DG. Metagenomic profiling and transfer dynamics of antibiotic resistance determinants in a full-scale granular sludge wastewater treatment plant. Water Res 2022; 219:118571. [PMID: 35576763 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.118571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/07/2022] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
In the One Health context, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are central to safeguarding water resources. Nonetheless, many questions remain about their effectiveness in preventing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) dissemination. Most surveillance studies monitor the levels and removal of selected antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in intracellular DNA (iDNA) extracted from WWTP influents and effluents. The role of extracellular free DNA (exDNA) in wastewater is mostly overlooked. This study analyzed the transfer of ARGs and MGEs in a full-scale Nereda® reactor removing nutrients with aerobic granular sludge. We tracked the composition and fate of the iDNA and exDNA pools of influent, sludge, and effluent samples. Metagenomics was used to profile the microbiome, resistome, and mobilome signatures of iDNA and exDNA extracts. Selected ARGs and MGEs were analyzed by qPCR. From 2,840 ARGs identified, the genes arr-3 (2%), tetC (1.6%), sul1 (1.5%), oqxB (1.2%), and aph(3")-Ib (1.2%) were the most abundant among all sampling points and bioaggregates. Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, Acidovorax, Rhodoferax, and Streptomyces populations were the main potential hosts of ARGs in the sludge. In the effluent, 478 resistance determinants were detected, of which 89% were from exDNA potentially released by cell lysis during aeration in the reactor. MGEs and multiple ARGs were co-localized on the same extracellular genetic contigs. Total intracellular ARGs decreased 3-42% due to wastewater treatment. However, the ermB and sul1 genes increased by 2 and 1 log gene copies mL-1, respectively, in exDNA from influent to effluent. The exDNA fractions need to be considered in AMR surveillance, risk assessment, and mitigation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Calderón-Franco
- Department of Biotechnology, Weissbrodt Group for Environmental Life Science Engineering, Environmental Biotechnology Section, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Roel Sarelse
- Department of Biotechnology, Weissbrodt Group for Environmental Life Science Engineering, Environmental Biotechnology Section, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Stella Christou
- Department of Biotechnology, Weissbrodt Group for Environmental Life Science Engineering, Environmental Biotechnology Section, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Mario Pronk
- Department of Biotechnology, Weissbrodt Group for Environmental Life Science Engineering, Environmental Biotechnology Section, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands; Royal HaskoningDHV, Amersfoort, the Netherlands
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Weissbrodt Group for Environmental Life Science Engineering, Environmental Biotechnology Section, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Thomas Abeel
- Delft Bioinformatics Lab, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands; Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, USA
| | - David G Weissbrodt
- Department of Biotechnology, Weissbrodt Group for Environmental Life Science Engineering, Environmental Biotechnology Section, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands.
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Goedhart R, Müller S, van Loosdrecht MCM, van Halem D. Vivianite precipitation for iron recovery from anaerobic groundwater. Water Res 2022; 217:118345. [PMID: 35460977 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.118345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Iron in anaerobic groundwater is commonly removed by oxidation followed by sand filtration. This produces large volumes of iron(III)(hydr)oxide sludge with little value. Our research investigates the novel concept of anaerobic iron(II) recovery from groundwater as the valuable mineral vivianite (Fe3(PO4)2 • 8 H2O) by the addition of phosphate to the water. We found that vivianite precipitated both in synthetic and natural groundwater when the saturation index (SI) was higher than 4. The SI can be increased by elevating the pH, which allows for iron removal at lower concentrations. Anaerobic iron removal reached 93.7% in natural groundwater, which increased further to 99.9% after a subsequent aeration step. Vivianite precipitation followed second order kinetics with a rate constant of 2.3 M-1s-1 and the sludge volume decreased by two third compared to iron oxidation. We therefore conclude that anaerobic iron removal is a promising new approach towards sustainable groundwater treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roos Goedhart
- Water Management Department, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, Delft 2628 CN, The Netherlands.
| | - Simon Müller
- Water Management Department, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, Delft 2628 CN, The Netherlands
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Biotechnology Department, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, The Netherlands
| | - Doris van Halem
- Water Management Department, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, Delft 2628 CN, The Netherlands
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van Dijk EJH, Haaksman VA, van Loosdrecht MCM, Pronk M. On the mechanisms for aerobic granulation - model based evaluation. Water Res 2022; 216:118365. [PMID: 35413626 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.118365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In this study a mathematical framework was developed to describe aerobic granulation based on 6 main mechanisms: microbial selection, selective wasting, maximizing transport of substrate into the biofilm, selective feeding, substrate type and breakage. A numerical model was developed using four main components; a 1D convection/dispersion model to describe the flow dynamics in a reactor, a reaction/diffusion model describing the essential conversions for granule growth, a setting model to track granules during settling and feeding, and a population model containing up to 100,000 clusters of granules to model the stochastic behaviour of the granulation process. With this approach the model can explain the dynamics of the granulation process observed in practice. This includes the presence of a lag phase and a granulation phase. Selective feeding was identified as an important mechanism that was not yet reported in literature. When aerobic granules are grown from activated sludge flocs, a lag phase occurs, in which not many granules are formed, followed by a granulation phase in which granules rapidly appear. The ratio of granule forming to non-granule forming substrate together with the feast/famine ratio determine if the transition from the lag phase to the granulation phase is successful. The efficiency of selective wasting and selective feeding both determine the rate of this transition. Brake-up of large granules into smaller well settling particles was shown to be an important source for new granules. The granulation process was found to be the combined result from all 6 mechanisms and if conditions for either one are not optimal, other mechanisms can, to some extent, compensate. This model provides a theoretical framework to analyse the different relevant mechanisms for aerobic granular sludge formation and can form the basis for a comprehensive model that includes detailed nutrient removal aspects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward J H van Dijk
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands; Royal HaskoningDHV, Laan1914 35, Amersfoort 3800 AL, the Netherlands.
| | - Viktor A Haaksman
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Mario Pronk
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands; Royal HaskoningDHV, Laan1914 35, Amersfoort 3800 AL, the Netherlands
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Tomás-Martínez S, Chen LM, Neu TR, Weissbrodt DG, van Loosdrecht MCM, Lin Y. Catabolism of sialic acids in an environmental microbial community. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2022; 98:6571932. [PMID: 35446356 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiac047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Sialic acids are a family of nine-carbon negatively charged carbohydrates. In animals, they are abundant on mucosa surfaces as terminal carbohydrates of mucin glycoproteins. Some commensal and pathogenic bacteria are able to release, take up, and catabolize sialic acids. Recently, sialic acids have been discovered to be widespread among most microorganisms. Although the catabolism of sialic acids has been intensively investigated in the field of host-microbe interactions, very limited information is available on microbial degradation of sialic acids produced by environmental microorganisms. In this study, the catabolic pathways of sialic acids within an microbial community dominated by 'Candidatus Accumulibacter' was evaluated. Protein alignment tools were used to detect the presence of the different proteins involved in the utilization of sialic acids in the flanking populations detected by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. The results showed the ability of Clostridium to release sialic acids from the glycan chains by the action of a sialidase. Clostridium and Chryseobacterium can take up free sialic acids and utilize them as nutrient. Interestingly, these results display similarities with the catabolism of sialic acids by the gut microbiota. This study points at the importance of sialic acids in environmental communities in the absence of eukaryotic hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Tomás-Martínez
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Le Min Chen
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Thomas R Neu
- Microbiology of Interfaces, Department River Ecology, Helmholtz Centre of Environmental Research - UFZ, Brueckstrasse 3A, 39114, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - David G Weissbrodt
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Yuemei Lin
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
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Olavarria K, Pijman YO, Cabrera R, van Loosdrecht MCM, Wahl SA. Engineering an acetoacetyl-CoA reductase from Cupriavidus necator toward NADH preference under physiological conditions. Sci Rep 2022; 12:3757. [PMID: 35260659 PMCID: PMC8904767 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-07663-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The coupling of PHB generation with NADH reoxidation is required to generate PHB as a fermentation product. A fundamental trait to accomplish this feature is to express a functional NADH-preferring acetoacetyl-CoA reductase, engaged in PHB accumulation. One way to obtain such a reductase is by engineering the cofactor preference of the acetoacetyl-CoA reductase encoded by the phaB1 gene from Cupriavidus necator (AARCn1). Aiming to have a deeper understanding of the structural determinants of the cofactor preference in AARCn1, and to obtain an NADH-preferring acetoacetyl-CoA reductase derived from this protein, some engineered enzymes were expressed, purified and kinetically characterized, together with the parental AARCn1. One of these engineered enzymes, Chimera 5, experimentally showed a selectivity ratio ((kcat/KM)NADH/(kcat/KM)NADPH) ≈ 18, which is 160 times higher than the selectivity ratio experimentally observed in the parental AARCn1. A thermodynamic-kinetic approach was employed to estimate the cofactor preference and flux capacity of Chimera 5 under physiological conditions. According to this approach, Chimera 5 could prefer NADH over NADPH between 25 and 150 times. Being a derivative of AARCn1, Chimera 5 should be readily functional in Escherichia coli and C. necator. Moreover, with the expected expression level, its activity should be enough to sustain PHB accumulation fluxes similar to the fluxes previously observed in these biotechnologically relevant cell factories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karel Olavarria
- Departement Biotechnologie, Faculteit Technische Natuurwetenschappen, Technische Universiteit Delft, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands. .,Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research, Stippeneng 4, 6700 EH, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Yared O Pijman
- Departement Biotechnologie, Faculteit Technische Natuurwetenschappen, Technische Universiteit Delft, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Ricardo Cabrera
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Ñuñoa, Región Metropolitana, Chile
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Departement Biotechnologie, Faculteit Technische Natuurwetenschappen, Technische Universiteit Delft, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - S Aljoscha Wahl
- Departement Biotechnologie, Faculteit Technische Natuurwetenschappen, Technische Universiteit Delft, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
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48
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Pabst M, Grouzdev DS, Lawson CE, Kleikamp HBC, de Ram C, Louwen R, Lin YM, Lücker S, van Loosdrecht MCM, Laureni M. A general approach to explore prokaryotic protein glycosylation reveals the unique surface layer modulation of an anammox bacterium. ISME J 2022; 16:346-357. [PMID: 34341504 PMCID: PMC8776859 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-021-01073-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The enormous chemical diversity and strain variability of prokaryotic protein glycosylation makes their large-scale exploration exceptionally challenging. Therefore, despite the universal relevance of protein glycosylation across all domains of life, the understanding of their biological significance and the evolutionary forces shaping oligosaccharide structures remains highly limited. Here, we report on a newly established mass binning glycoproteomics approach that establishes the chemical identity of the carbohydrate components and performs untargeted exploration of prokaryotic oligosaccharides from large-scale proteomics data directly. We demonstrate our approach by exploring an enrichment culture of the globally relevant anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacterium Ca. Kuenenia stuttgartiensis. By doing so we resolve a remarkable array of oligosaccharides, which are produced by two seemingly unrelated biosynthetic routes, and which modify the same surface-layer protein simultaneously. More intriguingly, the investigated strain also accomplished modulation of highly specialized sugars, supposedly in response to its energy metabolism-the anaerobic oxidation of ammonium-which depends on the acquisition of substrates of opposite charges. Ultimately, we provide a systematic approach for the compositional exploration of prokaryotic protein glycosylation, and reveal a remarkable example for the evolution of complex oligosaccharides in bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Pabst
- grid.5292.c0000 0001 2097 4740Delft University of Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | | | - Christopher E. Lawson
- grid.184769.50000 0001 2231 4551DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA USA
| | - Hugo B. C. Kleikamp
- grid.5292.c0000 0001 2097 4740Delft University of Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Carol de Ram
- grid.5292.c0000 0001 2097 4740Delft University of Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Rogier Louwen
- grid.5645.2000000040459992XDepartment of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Yue Mei Lin
- grid.5292.c0000 0001 2097 4740Delft University of Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Sebastian Lücker
- grid.5590.90000000122931605Department of Microbiology, IWWR, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Mark C. M. van Loosdrecht
- grid.5292.c0000 0001 2097 4740Delft University of Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Michele Laureni
- grid.5292.c0000 0001 2097 4740Delft University of Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Delft, The Netherlands
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49
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Soler-Jofra A, Schmidtchen L, Olmo L, van Loosdrecht MCM, Pérez J. Short and long term continuous hydroxylamine feeding in a granular sludge partial nitritation reactor. Water Res 2022; 209:117945. [PMID: 34936973 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Revised: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 12/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Hydroxylamine is a nitrogen intermediate of ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB) that can transiently accumulate during nitrification. The impact of hydroxylamine on aerobic ammonium oxidations is still obscure. In the present study the short and long term impact of hydroxylamine on partial nitritation granular sludge was investigated. Dissolved oxygen was the governing factor determining the hydroxylamine impact in short term studies with continuous hydroxylamine feeding. Continuous short term hydroxylamine feeding together with low dissolved oxygen resulted in higher hydroxylamine accumulation, higher N2O production and decreased or maintained ammonium consumption. Instead, high dissolved oxygen reduced hydroxylamine accumulation and N2O production and increased ammonium consumption. Long term continuous hydroxylamine feeding reduced ammonium consumption rate while the constant nitrite production rate indicated that dosed hydroxylamine was mainly transformed to nitrite. This indicates that hydroxylamine was preferred over ammonium as substrate. Nitrosomonas sp. was shown to be predominant during continuous hydroxylamine feeding while the side community shifted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aina Soler-Jofra
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Lisbeth Schmidtchen
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Lluc Olmo
- Department of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Valles, Spain
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands.
| | - Julio Pérez
- Department of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Valles, Spain
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50
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Kim NK, Lin R, Bhattacharyya D, van Loosdrecht MCM, Lin Y. Insight on how biopolymers recovered from aerobic granular wastewater sludge can reduce the flammability of synthetic polymers. Sci Total Environ 2022; 805:150434. [PMID: 34818807 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2021] [Revised: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Eco-friendly flame retardants are greatly required to meet the expectations of low-toxicity, environmental compatibility and sustainability. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), the biopolymers recovered from excess granular wastewater sludge, have been successfully incorporated into poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) by a solution casting method. Self-extinguishment of EPS was observed in a vertical burn test. Positive effects of EPS on the reduction of heat release rate and CO emission of EPS/PVA composites were also demonstrated. The presence of various types of phosphates was detected in the EPS and a possible flame-retardant mechanism has been proposed. The investigation of using granular sludge EPS to reduce the flammability of synthetic polymers may open the possibility of converting wastewater sludge into bio phosphorus-based flame retardants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nam Kyeun Kim
- Centre for Advanced Composite Materials, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
| | - Richard Lin
- Centre for Advanced Composite Materials, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Debes Bhattacharyya
- Centre for Advanced Composite Materials, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Auckland, New Zealand
| | | | - Yuemei Lin
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
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