Mills, S., Trego, A. C., Lens, P. N.L., Ijaz, U. and Collins, G. (2021) A distinct, flocculent, acidogenic microbial community accompanies methanogenic granules in anaerobic digesters. Microbiology Spectrum, 9(3), e00784-21. (doi: 10.1128/Spectrum.00784-21) (PMID:34756083) (PMCID:PMC8579839)
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Abstract
The formation of dense, well-settling methanogenic granules is essential for the operation of high-rate, up-flow anaerobic bioreactors used for wastewater treatment. Granule formation (granulation) mechanisms have been previously proposed, but an ecological understanding of granule formation is still lacking. Additionally, much of the current research on granulation only examines the start-up phase of bioreactor operation, rather than monitoring the fate of established granules and how new granules emerge over time. This paper, therefore, attempts to provide an insight into the microbial ecology of granule formation outside the start-up phase of bioreactor operation and develop an ecological granulation model. The microbial communities of granules actively undergoing growth, breakage, and reformation were examined, and an ecological granulation model was proposed. A distinct pregranular microbial community, with a high proportion of acidogenic organisms, such as the Streptococcaceae, was identified and suggested to have a role in initiating granulation by providing simpler substrates for the methanogenic and syntrophic communities which developed during granule growth. After initial granule formation, deterministic influences on microbial community assembly increased with granule size and indicated that microbial community succession was influenced by granule growth, leading to the formation of a stepwise ecological model for granulation.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | U.Z.I. was funded by NERC IRF NE/L011956/1 and EPSRC (EP/P029329/1 and EP/V030515/1). P.N.L.L. is financed by an SFI research professorship and a research infrastructure research grant (grant numbers 15/RP/2763 and 16/RI/3401). G.C., A.C.T., and S.M. were supported by a European Research Council starting grant (3C-BIOTECH 261330) and by a Science Foundation Ireland career development award (17/CDA/4658) to G.C. |
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Collins, Dr Gavin and Ijaz, Dr Umer |
| Authors: | Mills, S., Trego, A. C., Lens, P. N.L., Ijaz, U., and Collins, G. |
| College/School: | College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Infrastructure and Environment |
| Journal Name: | Microbiology Spectrum |
| Publisher: | American Society for Microbiology |
| ISSN: | 2165-0497 |
| ISSN (Online): | 2165-0497 |
| Published Online: | 10 November 2021 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2021 Mills et al. |
| First Published: | First published in Microbiology Spectrum 9(3): e00784-21 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence |
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