Nitrification potential and population dynamics of nitrifying bacterial biofilms in response to controlled shifts of ammonium concentrations in wastewater trickling filters

Almstrand, Robert; Lydmark, Pär; Sörensson, Fred; Hermansson, Malte

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2011.05.066

Cited by 34 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…For screening of biofilm community composition the biofilm was brushed off from fixed halves of biofilm carriers, fixed again and homogenized [35]. …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Three-Dimensional Stratification of Bacterial Biofilm Populations in a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor for Nitritation-Anammox

Almstrand

Persson

Daims

et al. 2014

IJMS

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Moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs) are increasingly used for nitrogen removal with nitritation-anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) processes in wastewater treatment. Carriers provide protected surfaces where ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and anammox bacteria form complex biofilms. However, the knowledge about the organization of microbial communities in MBBR biofilms is sparse. We used new cryosectioning and imaging methods for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to study the structure of biofilms retrieved from carriers in a nitritation-anammox MBBR. The dimensions of the carrier compartments and the biofilm cryosections after FISH showed good correlation, indicating little disturbance of biofilm samples by the treatment. FISH showed that Nitrosomonas europaea/eutropha-related cells dominated the AOB and Candidatus Brocadia fulgida-related cells dominated the anammox guild. New carriers were initially colonized by AOB, followed by anammox bacteria proliferating in the deeper biofilm layers, probably in anaerobic microhabitats created by AOB activity. Mature biofilms showed a pronounced three-dimensional stratification where AOB dominated closer to the biofilm-water interface, whereas anammox were dominant deeper into the carrier space and towards the walls. Our results suggest that current mathematical models may be oversimplifying these three-dimensional systems and unless the multidimensionality of these systems is considered, models may result in suboptimal design of MBBR carriers.

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“…For screening of biofilm community composition the biofilm was brushed off from fixed halves of biofilm carriers, fixed again and homogenized [35]. …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Screening for AOB, NOB and anammox populations was performed on homogenized biofilms, sampled on 14 May 2009, using FISH [35]. …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three-Dimensional Stratification of Bacterial Biofilm Populations in a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor for Nitritation-Anammox

Almstrand

Persson

Daims

et al. 2014

IJMS

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“…The pilot plant received the same influent as the full-scale NTFs at the WWTP. The pilot plant performance is presented in detail elsewhere (23,26). For about 2 months prior to sampling, the investigated full-scale NTF was fed with a mean ammonium concentration of 14.3 Ϯ 3.2 mg N liter Ϫ1 (load, 17.42 Ϯ 2.59 g N m Ϫ2 day Ϫ1 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Methods for Analysis of Spatial Distribution and Coaggregation of Microbial Populations in Complex Biofilms

Almstrand

Daims

Persson

et al. 2013

Appl Environ Microbiol

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cIn biofilms, microbial activities form gradients of substrates and electron acceptors, creating a complex landscape of microhabitats, often resulting in structured localization of the microbial populations present. To understand the dynamic interplay between and within these populations, quantitative measurements and statistical analysis of their localization patterns within the biofilms are necessary, and adequate automated tools for such analyses are needed. We have designed and applied new methods for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and digital image analysis of directionally dependent (anisotropic) multispecies biofilms. A sequential-FISH approach allowed multiple populations to be detected in a biofilm sample. This was combined with an automated tool for vertical-distribution analysis by generating in silico biofilm slices and the recently developed Inflate algorithm for coaggregation analysis of microbial populations in anisotropic biofilms. As a proof of principle, we show distinct stratification patterns of the ammonia oxidizers Nitrosomonas oligotropha subclusters I and II and the nitrite oxidizer Nitrospira sublineage I in three different types of wastewater biofilms, suggesting niche differentiation between the N. oligotropha subclusters, which could explain their coexistence in the same biofilms. Coaggregation analysis showed that N. oligotropha subcluster II aggregated closer to Nitrospira than did N. oligotropha subcluster I in a pilot plant nitrifying trickling filter (NTF) and a movingbed biofilm reactor (MBBR), but not in a full-scale NTF, indicating important ecophysiological differences between these phylogenetically closely related subclusters. By using high-resolution quantitative methods applicable to any multispecies biofilm in general, the ecological interactions of these complex ecosystems can be understood in more detail.

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“…Indeed, a higher amount of nitrifiers and improved nitrification were observed under pulse feeding not only in activated sludge systems but also in trickling filters (Almstrand et al 2011). In addition to the potentially less metabolites generated by nitrifiers in these systems, pulse feeding allows penetration of ammonia over a greater depth of biofilms or granules (Beun et al 2002), leading to AOB enrichment in deeper layers.…”

Section: Effects Of Feeding Patterns On Cellular Metabolitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global metabolomic responses of Nitrosomonas europaea 19718 to cold stress and altered ammonia feeding patterns

Lü

Ulanov

Nobu

et al. 2015

Appl Microbiol Biotechnol

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The model ammonia-oxidizing bacterium Nitrosomonas europaea represents one of the environmentally and biotechnologically significant microorganisms. Genome-based studies over the last decade have led to many intriguing discoveries about its cellular biochemistry and physiology. However, knowledge regarding the regulation of overall metabolic routes in response to various environmental stresses is limited due to a lack of comprehensive, time-resolved metabolomic analyses. In this study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based metabolic profiling was performed to characterize the temporal variations of N. europaea 19718 intercellular metabolites in response to varied temperature (23 and 10 °C) and ammonia feeding patterns (shock loading and continuous feeding of 20 mg N/L). Approximately 87 metabolites were successfully identified and mapped to the existing pathways of N. europaea 19718, allowing interpretation of the influence of temperature and feeding pattern on metabolite levels. In general, varied temperature had a more profound influence on the overall metabolism than varied feeding patterns. Total extracellular metabolite concentrations (relative to internal standards and normalized to biomass weight) were lower under cold stress and shock loading conditions compared with the control (continuous feeding at 23 °C). Cold stress caused the widespread downregulation of metabolites involved in central carbon metabolism, amino acid, and lipid synthesis (e.g., malonic acid, succinic acid, putrescine, and phosphonolpyruvate). Metabolites that showed differences under varied feeding patterns were mainly involved in nucleotide acid, amino acid, and lipid metabolism (e.g., adenine, uracil, and spermidine). This study highlighted the roles of central carbon and nitrogen metabolism in countering cold stress and altered ammonia availability. In addition, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic data from three studies on N. europaea were compared to achieve a holistic view of some important synergy and interconnectivity among different cellular components (RNA, protein, and metabolites) during ammonia starvation.

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Nitrification potential and population dynamics of nitrifying bacterial biofilms in response to controlled shifts of ammonium concentrations in wastewater trickling filters

Cited by 34 publications

References 31 publications

Three-Dimensional Stratification of Bacterial Biofilm Populations in a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor for Nitritation-Anammox

Three-Dimensional Stratification of Bacterial Biofilm Populations in a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor for Nitritation-Anammox

New Methods for Analysis of Spatial Distribution and Coaggregation of Microbial Populations in Complex Biofilms

Global metabolomic responses of Nitrosomonas europaea 19718 to cold stress and altered ammonia feeding patterns

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