Exploring the Shift in Structure and Function of Microbial Communities Performing Biological Phosphorus Removal

Abstract

A sequencing batch reactor fed mainly by acetate was operated to perform enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). A short-term pH shock from 7.0 to 6.0 led to a complete loss of phosphate-removing capability and a drastic change of microbial communities. 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing showed that large proportions of glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs) (accounted for 16% of bacteria) bloomed, including Candidatus Competibacter phosphatis and Defluviicoccus-related tetrad-forming organism, causing deteriorated EBPR performance. The EBPR performance recovered with time and the dominant Candidatus Accumulibacter (Accumulibacter) clades shifted from Clade IIC to IIA while GAOs populations shrank significantly. The Accumulibacter population variation provided a good opportunity for genome binning using a bi-dimensional coverage method, and a genome of Accumulibacter Clade IIC was well retrieved with over 90% completeness. Comparative genomic analysis demonstrated that Accumulibacter clades had different abilities in nitrogen metabolism and carbon fixation, which shed light on enriching different Accumulibacter populations selectively.

Critical Review of Polyphosphate and Polyphosphate Accumulating Organisms for Agricultural Water Quality Management

“…Second, there is limited identification and quantification of P functional genes (i.e., ppk and ppx ; Text S3, Table S6) across the five major categories. Researchers identified Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis P functional genes (i.e., ppk ) in EBPR wastewater treatment plants around the world. ,, However, we found only a few studies quantifying the abundance and diversity of non-Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis PAO ppk in EBPR wastewater treatment plants . We found two studies that quantified PAO-related P functional genes (i.e., ppk ; Text S3, Table S6) in marine habitats , but no other studies quantifying ppk abundance in agricultural, terrestrial, or freshwater environments.…”

“…105,140,206 However, we found only a few studies quantifying the abundance and diversity of non-Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis PAO ppk in EBPR wastewater treatment plants. 207 We found two studies that quantified PAO-related P functional genes (i.e., ppk; Text S3, Table S6) in marine habitats 186,187 but no other studies quantifying ppk abundance in agricultural, terrestrial, or freshwater environments. Furthermore, we found only a few ppx studies (Text S3, Table S6).…”

“…First, across these categories, there is limited identification and quantification of non-Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis PAOs including those of the Tetasphaera and Microlunatus genera, denitrifying PAOs, and others (Section , Texts S2, S3). For example, studies used established molecular biology tools to assess the presence and/or quantity of Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis P functional genes in wastewater treatment plants, , freshwater, sediments, and soils, , but we found only a few studies surveying natural environments for Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis and non-Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis PAOs (Table S5). We know polyP use is ubiquitous across the tree of life (Section ), and PAOs exhibit phenotypic and genetic diversity (Section ).…”

Mining traits for the enrichment and isolation of not-yet-cultured populations

“…Still, many important populations are not-yet-cultured even with available genomes and the knowledge of their optimal niches [6]. Taking Candidatus Accumulibacter (Accumulibacter) as an example, as the primary functional population in the enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR), 13 Accumulibacter genomes have been retrieved and analyzed [7–12]. Besides, its optimal enrichment conditions have been well studied for more than two decades [13–15].…”

Tropical‐based EBPR process: The long‐term stability, microbial community and its response towards temperature stress

“…Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis (hereafter Accumulibacter) and Candidatus Competibacter phosphatis (hereafter Competibacter) are one of the common PAOs and GAOs, respectively. They have been detected in both lab-scale and full-scale EBPR systems (Law et al, 2016;Mao et al, 2016;Y.H. Ong et al, 2014;Stokholm-Bjerregaard et al, 2017).…”