Study on community structure and metabolic mechanism of dominant polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) and glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs) in suspended biofilm based on phosphate recovery

Min Ni; Yue Chen; Yang Pan; Yong Huang; Da-Peng Li; Lu Li; Bo Huang; Zuowei Song

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152678

Study on community structure and metabolic mechanism of dominant polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) and glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs) in suspended biofilm based on phosphate recovery

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Apr 1:815:152678. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152678. Epub 2021 Dec 29.

Authors

Min Ni¹, Yue Chen², Yang Pan³, Yong Huang⁴, Da-Peng Li⁴, Lu Li², Bo Huang², Zuowei Song⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, China.
² School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, China.
³ School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, China; National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Municipal Sewage Resource Utilization Technology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, China. Electronic address: panyang@mail.usts.edu.cn.
⁴ School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, China; National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Municipal Sewage Resource Utilization Technology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, China.
⁵ Novoprotein, Suzhou, China.

PMID: 34973331
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152678

Abstract

Biofilm sequencing batch reactor (BSBR) can achieve efficient phosphate (P) removal and enrichment, but its process performance and metabolic mechanisms for P removal and enrichment of municipal wastewater remain largely unclear. In the present study, we assessed the P removal and enrichment of municipal wastewater at influent P concentrations of 2.5 mg/L and 10 mg/L. The efficiency of P removal and enzyme activity in polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) and glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs) were compared, and the growth and metabolic characteristics of dominant PAOs and GAOs at different influent P concentrations were studied with the macro-sequencing technology. The results showed that the P recovery efficiencies were 70.03% and 76.19% when the influent P concentration was 2.5 mg/L and 10 mg/L in BSBR, respectively, and the maximum P concentration of recovery liquid was 81.29 mg/L and 173.12 mg/L, respectively. There were no phosphate kinase (PPK) and phosphate hydrolase (PPX) in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). The dominant PAOs were Candidatus_Contendobacter, Dechloromonas, and Flavobacterium, and the dominant GAO was Candidatus_Competibacter. The abundance of Candidatus_Contendobacter was the highest with the most potential contribution to P removal. PAOs had competitive advantages in carbon (C) source uptake, glycogen metabolism, P metabolism, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) metabolism. HMP was unique to PAOs, EMP had the highest abundance in glycogen metabolism, and ED was contained in PAOs of BSBR. These results indicated that BSBR provided sufficient reducing power and ATP for PAOs through different glycogen decomposition pathways to promote P uptake and obtained competitive advantages in P metabolism, C source uptake, and ATP utilization to achieve efficient P removal and enrichment. Collectively, our current findings provided valuable insights into the P removal and enrichment mechanism of BSBR in municipal sewage.

Keywords: High phosphate concentration of influent; Low phosphate concentration of influent; Metabolic mechanism; Phosphate enrichment; Phosphate removal.

MeSH terms

Biofilms
Bioreactors*
Glycogen*
Phosphorus
Polyphosphates

Substances

Polyphosphates
Phosphorus
Glycogen