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Meng Q, Zeng W, Fan Z, Li S, Peng Y. Sulfide inhibition on polyphosphate accumulating organisms and glycogen accumulating organisms: Cumulative inhibitory effect and recoverability. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2023; 451:131157. [PMID: 36889076 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2022] [Revised: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Sulfate in wastewater can be reduced to sulfide and its impact on the stability of enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) is still unclear. In this study, the metabolic changes and subsequent recovery of polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) and glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs) were investigated at different sulfide concentrations. The results showed that the metabolic activity of PAOs and GAOs was mainly related to H2S concentration. Under anaerobic conditions, the catabolism of PAOs and GAOs was promoted at H2S concentrations below 79 mg/L S and 271 mg/L S, respectively, and inhibited above these concentrations; whereas anabolism was consistently inhibited in the presence of H2S. The phosphorus (P) release was also pH-dependent due to the intracellular free Mg2+ efflux from PAOs. H2S was more destructive to the esterase activity and membrane permeability of PAOs than those of GAOs and prompted intracellular free Mg2+ efflux of PAOs, resulting in worse aerobic metabolism and subsequent recovery of PAOs than GAOs. Additionally, sulfides facilitated the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), especially tightly bound EPS. The amount of EPS in GAOs was significantly higher than that in PAOs. The above results indicated that sulfide had a stronger inhibition to PAOs than GAOs, and when sulfide was present, GAOs had a competitive advantage over PAOs in EBPR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingan Meng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Wei Zeng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China.
| | - Zhiwei Fan
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Shuangshuang Li
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Yongzhen Peng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
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Ceron-Chafla P, de Vrieze J, Rabaey K, van Lier JB, Lindeboom REF. Steering the product spectrum in high-pressure anaerobic processes: CO 2 partial pressure as a novel tool in biorefinery concepts. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS 2023; 16:27. [PMID: 36803622 PMCID: PMC9938588 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-023-02262-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Elevated CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) has been proposed as a potential steering parameter for selective carboxylate production in mixed culture fermentation. It is anticipated that intermediate product spectrum and production rates, as well as changes in the microbial community, are (in)directly influenced by elevated pCO2. However, it remains unclear how pCO2 interacts with other operational conditions, namely substrate specificity, substrate-to-biomass (S/X) ratio and the presence of an additional electron donor, and what effect pCO2 has on the exact composition of fermentation products. Here, we investigated possible steering effects of elevated pCO2 combined with (1) mixed substrate (glycerol/glucose) provision; (2) subsequent increments in substrate concentration to increase the S/X ratio; and (3) formate as an additional electron donor. RESULTS Metabolite predominance, e.g., propionate vs. butyrate/acetate, and cell density, depended on interaction effects between pCO2-S/X ratio and pCO2-formate. Individual substrate consumption rates were negatively impacted by the interaction effect between pCO2-S/X ratio and were not re-established after lowering the S/X ratio and adding formate. The product spectrum was influenced by the microbial community composition, which in turn, was modified by substrate type and the interaction effect between pCO2-formate. High propionate and butyrate levels strongly correlated with Negativicutes and Clostridia predominance, respectively. After subsequent pressurized fermentation phases, the interaction effect between pCO2-formate enabled a shift from propionate towards succinate production when mixed substrate was provided. CONCLUSIONS Overall, interaction effects between elevated pCO2, substrate specificity, high S/X ratio and availability of reducing equivalents from formate, rather than an isolated pCO2 effect, modified the proportionality of propionate, butyrate and acetate in pressurized mixed substrate fermentations at the expense of reduced consumption rates and increased lag-phases. The interaction effect between elevated pCO2 and formate was beneficial for succinate production and biomass growth with a glycerol/glucose mixture as the substrate. The positive effect may be attributed to the availability of extra reducing equivalents, likely enhanced carbon fixating activity and hindered propionate conversion due to increased concentration of undissociated carboxylic acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela Ceron-Chafla
- Sanitary Engineering Section, Department of Water Management, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN, Delft, The Netherlands.
| | - Jo de Vrieze
- grid.5342.00000 0001 2069 7798Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Korneel Rabaey
- grid.5342.00000 0001 2069 7798Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium ,grid.510907.aCenter for Advanced Process Technology for Urban Resource Recovery (CAPTURE), Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Jules B. van Lier
- grid.5292.c0000 0001 2097 4740Sanitary Engineering Section, Department of Water Management, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Ralph E. F. Lindeboom
- grid.5292.c0000 0001 2097 4740Sanitary Engineering Section, Department of Water Management, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands
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The Performance and Mechanism of Sludge Reduction by the Bioaugmentation Approach. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:life12101649. [PMID: 36295084 PMCID: PMC9605661 DOI: 10.3390/life12101649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Activated sludge-based wastewater treatment process is one of the most popular adopted systems in wastewater treatment plants around the world. Excess sludge is an inevitable byproduct of the process, and the enormous quantity has brought a significant burden on operational costs. Various physicochemical and biological methods have been developed. Biological-based methods are promising because of less chemical consumption and low operation cost comparing to physicochemical methods. Hence, the present study is aimed at searching for functional bacteria that could reduce sludge, enhance the performance of sludge reduction through optimization, and try to unveil the underlying mechanism during sludge reduction. A total of 19 strains that belong to Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria were successfully isolated and identified. Subsequently, the performance of sludge reduction by pure culture or mix-cultures was validated. In total, 21.2% and 13.9% of total suspended and volatile suspended solids were reduced within 48 h after optimization via response surface methodology. The three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectrum and hydrolases test results revealed that the sludge reduction might be promoted by the strain mainly through hydrolysis via proteinase and amylase. The results obtained from the study could help us to find an effective and economical way to resolve the sludge issue. Abstract Millions of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) based on the activated sludge process have been established worldwide to help to purify wastewater. However, a vast amount of sludge is inevitably generated, and the cost of sludge disposal could reach over half of the total operation cost of a WWTP. Various sludge reduction techniques have been developed, including physicochemical, biological, and combinational methods. Micro-organisms that could reduce sludge by cryptic growth are vital to the biological approach. Currently, only limited functional bacteria have been isolated, and the lack of knowledge on the underlying mechanism hinders the technique development. Therefore, the present study is aimed at isolating sludge-reducing bacteria and optimizing the sludge reduction process through response surface methodology. Nineteen strains were obtained from sludge. The mix-cultures did not show a higher sludge reduction rate than the pure culture, which may be ascribed to the complicated interactions, such as competition and antagonistic effects. In total, 21.2% and 13.9% of total suspended and volatile suspended solids were reduced within 48 h after optimization. The three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectrum and hydrolases test results revealed that the sludge reduction might be promoted by the strain mainly through hydrolysis via proteinase and amylase. The results obtained from the study demonstrate the potential of using micro-organisms for sludge reduction through cryptic growth.
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4
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Wang C, Yang Y, Wang Y, Wang D, Xu X, Wang Y, Li L, Yang C, Zhang T. Absolute quantification and genome-centric analyses elucidate the dynamics of microbial populations in anaerobic digesters. WATER RESEARCH 2022; 224:119049. [PMID: 36108398 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.119049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Anaerobic digestion (AD) relies on myriads of functions performed by complex microbial communities in customized settings, thus, a comprehensive investigation on the AD microbiome is central to the fine-tuned control. Most current AD microbiome studies are based on relative abundance, which hinders the interpretation of microbes' dynamics and inter-sample comparisons. Here, we developed an absolute quantification (AQ) approach that integrated cellular spike-ins with metagenomic sequencing to elucidate microbial community variations and population dynamics in four anaerobic digesters. Using this method, 253 microbes were defined as decaying populations with decay rates ranging from -0.05 to -5.85 d-1, wherein, a population from Flavobacteriaceae family decayed at the highest rates of -3.87 to -5.85 d-1 in four digesters. Meanwhile, 25 microbes demonstrated the growing trend in the AD processes with growth rates ranging from 0.11 to 1.77 d-1, and genome-centric analysis assigned some of the populations to the functional niches of hydrolysis, short-chain fatty acids metabolism, and methane generation. Additionally, we observed that the specific activity of methanogens was lower in the prolonged digestion stage, and redundancy analysis revealed that the feedstock composition and the digestion duration were the two key parameters in governing the AD microbial compositions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunxiao Wang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yu Yang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yulin Wang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Dou Wang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiaoqing Xu
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yubo Wang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Liguan Li
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Chao Yang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology for Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Tong Zhang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
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5
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Sampara P, Luo Y, Lin X, Ziels RM. Integrating Genome-Resolved Metagenomics with Trait-Based Process Modeling to Determine Biokinetics of Distinct Nitrifying Communities within Activated Sludge. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:11670-11682. [PMID: 35929783 PMCID: PMC9387530 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c02081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Conventional bioprocess models for wastewater treatment are based on aggregated bulk biomass concentrations and do not incorporate microbial physiological diversity. Such a broad aggregation of microbial functional groups can fail to predict ecosystem dynamics when high levels of physiological diversity exist within trophic guilds. For instance, functional diversity among nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) can obfuscate engineering strategies for their out-selection in activated sludge (AS), which is desirable to promote energy-efficient nitrogen removal. Here, we hypothesized that different NOB populations within AS can have different physiological traits that drive process performance, which we tested by estimating biokinetic growth parameters using a combination of highly replicated respirometry, genome-resolved metagenomics, and process modeling. A lab-scale AS reactor subjected to a selective pressure for over 90 days experienced resilience of NOB activity. We recovered three coexisting Nitrospira population genomes belonging to two sublineages, which exhibited distinct growth strategies and underwent a compositional shift following the selective pressure. A trait-based process model calibrated at the NOB genus level better predicted nitrite accumulation than a conventional process model calibrated at the NOB guild level. This work demonstrates that trait-based modeling can be leveraged to improve our prediction, control, and design of functionally diverse microbiomes driving key environmental biotechnologies.
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6
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Li J, Ma J, Liao H, Li X, Shen L, Lin H, Sun L, Ou R, He D. Hot-pressed membrane assemblies enhancing the biofilm formation and nitrogen removal in a membrane-aerated biofilm reactor. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 833:155003. [PMID: 35390370 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Revised: 03/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) is gaining popularity in wastewater treatment as a result of the low-energy delivery of oxygen from the carrier side and reduced sludge waste production, although its wider application suffers from the difficulty in microbial colonization on the smooth, hydrophobic membrane surface. In this study, a newly designed membrane/non-woven fabric assembly, prepared via a facile hot-pressing method, is demonstrated to be efficient in promoting the biofilm formation and nitrogen removal in MABR. The assembly achieved rough surface structure to retain biomass whilst sustained the surface hydrophobicity for a high oxygen transfer ability, which is crucial to support a resilient biofilm. Compared with the slower biomass growth and severe detachment of biofilm in the control, a thicker biofilm was quickly developed on the hot-pressed membrane assembly. High loading rates of organic matter, ammonia nitrogen and total nitrogen (TN) in the MABR using the hot-pressed membrane were 154.9 ± 5.4 g COD/(m2·d), 25.5 ± 0.6 g N/(m2·d) and 22.6 ± 0.7 g N/(m2·d), respectively. Particularly, the removal efficiency of TN was up to 82.8%, which was 2.5 times higher than the control. Furthermore, the biofilm grown on the hot-pressed membrane assembly organized a stable microbial community structure with a steady evolution to achieve a synergistic denitrifying function. Among the bacterial phylotypes, OLB8 might be crucial in denitrification. This study highlighted the significance of this facile membrane modification method to improve the process performance of MABR in wastewater treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jibin Li
- Key Laboratory for City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development of the Ministry of Education, School of Ecology, Environment and Resources, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China
| | - Jinxing Ma
- Key Laboratory for City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development of the Ministry of Education, School of Ecology, Environment and Resources, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, PR China
| | - Huaiyu Liao
- Key Laboratory for City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development of the Ministry of Education, School of Ecology, Environment and Resources, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China
| | - Xianhui Li
- Key Laboratory for City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development of the Ministry of Education, School of Ecology, Environment and Resources, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, PR China
| | - Liguo Shen
- College of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, PR China
| | - Hongjun Lin
- College of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, PR China
| | - Li Sun
- Key Laboratory for City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development of the Ministry of Education, School of Ecology, Environment and Resources, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China
| | - Rui Ou
- Key Laboratory for City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development of the Ministry of Education, School of Ecology, Environment and Resources, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China
| | - Di He
- Key Laboratory for City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development of the Ministry of Education, School of Ecology, Environment and Resources, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, PR China.
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Petriglieri F, Petersen JF, Peces M, Nierychlo M, Hansen K, Baastrand CE, Nielsen UG, Reitzel K, Nielsen PH. Quantification of Biologically and Chemically Bound Phosphorus in Activated Sludge from Full-Scale Plants with Biological P-Removal. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:5132-5140. [PMID: 35358387 PMCID: PMC9022429 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c02642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Revised: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Phosphorus (P) is present in activated sludge from wastewater treatment plants in the form of metal salt precipitates, extracellular polymeric substances, or bound into the biomass, for example, as intracellular polyphosphate (poly-P). Several methods for a reliable quantification of the different P-fractions have recently been developed, and this study combines them to obtain a comprehensive P mass-balance of activated sludge from four enhanced biological phosphate removal (EBPR) plants. Chemical characterization by ICP-OES and sequential P fractionation showed that chemically bound P constituted 38-69% of total P, most likely in the form of Fe, Mg, or Al minerals. Raman microspectroscopy, solution state 31P NMR, and 31P MAS NMR spectroscopy applied before and after anaerobic P-release experiments, were used to quantify poly-P, which constituted 22-54% of total P and was found in approximately 25% of all bacterial cells. Raman microspectroscopy in combination with fluorescence in situ hybridization was used to quantify poly-P in known polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAO) (Tetrasphaera, Candidatus Accumulibacter, and Dechloromonas) and other microorganisms known to possess high level of poly-P, such as the filamentous Ca. Microthrix. Interestingly, only 1-13% of total P was stored by unidentified PAO, highlighting that most PAOs in the full-scale EBPR plants investigated are known.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Petriglieri
- Center
for Microbial Communities, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, DK-9220 Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Jette F. Petersen
- Center
for Microbial Communities, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, DK-9220 Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Miriam Peces
- Center
for Microbial Communities, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, DK-9220 Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Marta Nierychlo
- Center
for Microbial Communities, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, DK-9220 Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Kamilla Hansen
- Center
for Microbial Communities, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, DK-9220 Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Cecilie E. Baastrand
- Department
of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University
of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, DK-5230 Odense M, Denmark
| | - Ulla Gro Nielsen
- Department
of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University
of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, DK-5230 Odense M, Denmark
| | - Kasper Reitzel
- Department
of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, DK-5230 Odense M, Denmark
| | - Per Halkjær Nielsen
- Center
for Microbial Communities, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, DK-9220 Aalborg, Denmark
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8
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Yuan Q, Sun R, Yu P, Cheng Y, Wu W, Bao J, Alvarez PJJ. UV-aging of microplastics increases proximal ARG donor-recipient adsorption and leaching of chemicals that synergistically enhance antibiotic resistance propagation. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 427:127895. [PMID: 34844806 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Revised: 11/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Despite growing attention to environmental pollution by microplastics (MP), the effects of MP aging on bacterial horizontal gene transfer (HGT) have not been systematically investigated. Here, we used UV-aged polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) to investigate how aging affects antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) transfer efficiency from various ARG vectors to recipient bacteria. The adsorption capacity of MP20 (20-day UV-aged PS-MPs) towards E. coli (harboring plasmid-borne blaTEM-1), plasmid pET29 (harboring blaNDM-1) and phage lambda (carrying the aphA1 ARG) increased by 6.6-, 5.2- and 8.3-fold, respectively, relative to pristine PS-MPs (MP0), due to increased specific surface area and affinity for these ARG vectors. Moreover, MP20 released more organic compounds (TOC 1.6 mg/g-MP20, versus 0.2 mg/g-MP0 in 4 h) -possibly depolymerization byproducts (verified by GC-MS), which induced intracellular ROS generation, increased cell permeability and upregulated HGT associated genes. Accordingly, MP20 enhanced ARG transfer frequency from E. coli, plasmid pET29 and phage lambda (relative to MP0) by 1.3-, 4.7- and 3.5-fold, respectively. The Bliss independence model infers that higher bacterial adsorption and exposure to chemicals released during MP aging synergistically enhanced ARG transfer. This underscores the need to assess the significance of this overlooked phenomenon to the environmental dissemination of antibiotic resistance and other HGT processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingbin Yuan
- College of Environment Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, China
| | - Ruonan Sun
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, USA
| | - Pingfeng Yu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, USA; College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Yuan Cheng
- College of Environment Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, China
| | - Wenbin Wu
- College of Environment Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jiming Bao
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, USA
| | - Pedro J J Alvarez
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, USA.
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9
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Sun R, Yu P, Zuo P, Alvarez PJ. Bacterial Concentrations and Water Turbulence Influence the Importance of Conjugation Versus Phage-Mediated Antibiotic Resistance Gene Transfer in Suspended Growth Systems. ACS ENVIRONMENTAL AU 2022; 2:156-165. [PMID: 37101581 PMCID: PMC10114721 DOI: 10.1021/acsenvironau.1c00027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Despite the abundance of phage-borne antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment, the frequency of ARG propagation via phage-mediated transduction (relative to via conjugation) is poorly understood. We investigated the influence of bacterial concentration and water turbulence level [quantified as Reynold's number (Re)] in suspended growth systems on the frequency of ARG transfer by two mechanisms: delivery by a lysogenic phage (phage λ carrying gentamycin-resistance gene, genR) and conjugation mediated by the self-transmissible plasmid RP4. Using Escherichia coli (E. coli) as the recipient, phage delivery had a comparable frequency (1.2 ± 0.9 × 10-6) to that of conjugation (1.1 ± 0.9 × 10-6) in suspensions with low cell concentration (104 CFU/mL) and moderate turbulence (Re = 5 × 104). Turbulence affected cell (or phage)-to-cell contact rates and detachment (due to shear force), and thus, it affected the relative importance of conjugation versus phage delivery. At 107 CFU/mL, no significant difference was observed between the frequencies of ARG transfer by the two mechanisms under quiescent water conditions (2.8 ± 0.3 × 10-5 for conjugation vs 2.2 ± 0.5 × 10-5 for phage delivery, p = 0.19) or when Re reached 5 × 105 (3.4 ± 1.5 × 10-5 for conjugation vs 2.9 ± 1.0 × 10-5 for phage delivery, p = 0.52). Transcriptomic analysis of genes related to conjugation and phage delivery and simulation of cell (or phage)-to-cell collisions at different Re values corroborate that the importance of phage delivery relative to conjugation increases under either quiescent or turbulent conditions. This finding challenges the prevailing view that conjugation is the dominant ARG transfer mechanism and underscores the need to consider and mitigate potential ARG dissemination via transduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruonan Sun
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Pingfeng Yu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Pengxiao Zuo
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Pedro J.J. Alvarez
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
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10
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Yang Y, Che Y, Liu L, Wang C, Yin X, Deng Y, Yang C, Zhang T. Rapid absolute quantification of pathogens and ARGs by nanopore sequencing. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 809:152190. [PMID: 34890655 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Compositional nature of relative abundance data in the current standard microbiome studies limits microbial dynamics interpretations and cross-sample comparisons. Here, we demonstrate the first rapid (1-h sequencing) method coupling Nanopore metagenomic sequencing with cellular spike-in to facilitate the absolute quantification and removal assessment of pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Nanopore sequencing-based quantification results for both simple mock community and complex real environmental samples showed a high consistency with those from the widely-used Illumina and culture-based approaches. Implementing such method, we quantified 46 predominant putative pathogenic species, and 361 ARGs in three WWTP sample sets. Though high log removals of dominant pathogens (2.23 logs) and ARGs (1.98 logs) were achieved, complete removal of all pathogens and ARGs were not achieved. Noticeably, Mycobacterium spp., Clostridium_P perfringens, and Borrelia hermsii exhibited low removal, and 13 ARGs even increased in absolute abundance after the treatment. Our proposed approach manifested its profound ability in providing absolute quantitation information guiding wastewater-based epidemiological surveillance and quantitative risk assessment facilitating microbial hazards management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Yang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - You Che
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Lei Liu
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Chunxiao Wang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiaole Yin
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yu Deng
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Chao Yang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology for Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Tong Zhang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
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11
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Comprehensive assessment of the microalgae-nitrifying bacteria competition in microalgae-based wastewater treatment systems: Relevant factors, evaluation methods and control strategies. ALGAL RES 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2021.102563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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12
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Du Z, Behrens SF. Tracking de novo protein synthesis in the activated sludge microbiome using BONCAT-FACS. WATER RESEARCH 2021; 205:117696. [PMID: 34601360 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In order to ensure stable performance of engineered biotechnologies that rely on mixed microbial community systems, it is important to identify process-specific microbial traits and study their in-situ activity and responses to changing environmental conditions and system operational parameters. We used BioOrthogonal Non-Canonical Amino acid Tagging (BONCAT) in combination with Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to identify translationally active cells in activated sludge. We found that only a subset of the activated sludge microbiome is translationally active during the aerobic treatment phase of a full-scale sequencing batch reactor designed to enhance biological phosphorus removal from municipal wastewater. Relative abundance of amplicon sequence variants was not a reliable predictor of species activity. BONCAT-positive and -negative cells revealed a broad range of population-wide and taxa-specific translational heterogeneity. BONCAT-FACS in combination with amplicon sequencing can provide new insights into the ecophysiology of highly dynamic microbiomes in activated sludge systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhe Du
- The BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Sebastian F Behrens
- The BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA; Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
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13
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Ceron-Chafla P, Chang YT, Rabaey K, van Lier JB, Lindeboom REF. Directional Selection of Microbial Community Reduces Propionate Accumulation in Glycerol and Glucose Anaerobic Bioconversion Under Elevated pCO 2. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:675763. [PMID: 34220760 PMCID: PMC8242345 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.675763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Volatile fatty acid accumulation is a sign of digester perturbation. Previous work showed the thermodynamic limitations of hydrogen and CO2 in syntrophic propionate oxidation under elevated partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2). Here we study the effect of directional selection under increasing substrate load as a strategy to restructure the microbial community and induce cross-protection mechanisms to improve glucose and glycerol conversion performance under elevated pCO2. After an adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) process, viable cell density increased and predominant microbial groups were modified: an increase in Methanosaeta and syntrophic propionate oxidizing bacteria (SPOB) associated with the Smithella genus was found with glycerol as the substrate. A modest increase in SPOB along with a shift in the predominance of Methanobacterium toward Methanosaeta was observed with glucose as the substrate. The evolved inoculum showed affected diversity within archaeal spp. under 5 bar initial pCO2; however, higher CH4 yield resulted from enhanced propionate conversion linked to the community shifts and biomass adaptation during the ALE process. Moreover, the evolved inoculum attained increased cell viability with glucose and a marginal decrease with glycerol as the substrate. Results showed differences in terms of carbon flux distribution using the evolved inoculum under elevated pCO2: glucose conversion resulted in a higher cell density and viability, whereas glycerol conversion led to higher propionate production whose enabled conversion reflected in increased CH4 yield. Our results highlight that limited propionate conversion at elevated pCO2 resulted from decreased cell viability and low abundance of syntrophic partners. This limitation can be mitigated by promoting alternative and more resilient SPOB and building up biomass adaptation to environmental conditions via directional selection of microbial community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela Ceron-Chafla
- Sanitary Engineering Section, Department of Water Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
| | - Yu-Ting Chang
- Sanitary Engineering Section, Department of Water Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
| | - Korneel Rabaey
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.,Center for Advanced Process Technology for Urban Resource Recovery, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Jules B van Lier
- Sanitary Engineering Section, Department of Water Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
| | - Ralph E F Lindeboom
- Sanitary Engineering Section, Department of Water Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
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14
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Zhang S, Meng F. Core activated sludge communities are influenced little by immigration: Case study of a membrane bioreactor plant. J Environ Sci (China) 2021; 102:244-255. [PMID: 33637250 DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2020.09.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Revised: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Microbial immigrants arriving with influent wastewater may influence activated sludge (AS) ecosystems. However, the extent to which immigration impacts AS communities is still debated. To explore the intensity of immigration impact, we used sequencing technology to track the raw wastewater and AS communities from a membrane bioreactor plant over a 12-month period. We first distinguished core populations from peripheral ones in both raw wastewater and AS based on their occurrence frequency and abundance. The results showed that core OTUs (≥ 80% occurrence frequency) made up a large fraction (> 90%) of total sequences, while peripheral OTUs composed the majority of all detected OTUs but merely occupied a few sequences. A significant difference in core communities between the influent and AS was found, as well as between the compositions of core and peripheral populations. Additionally, the persistent functional bacteria of AS, although not numerically dominant, accounted for 96.24% of the total sequences related to nutrient turnover, suggesting the presence of a small number of longstanding and core functional bacteria in the AS ecosystem. Importantly, 64% of the 5188 OTUs in AS, which accounted for 91.51% of the sequences, exhibited positive growth rates, which suggested that their apparent abundances were due to growth within the plant, not from immigration. Taken together, these results demonstrated that the impact of influent populations on core AS communities was limited. Overall, this work provides quantitative insights into the impact of immigration, which is expected to advance our understanding of the AS community assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaoqing Zhang
- School of Civil Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China; School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Fangang Meng
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
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15
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Torena P, Alvarez‐Cuenca M, Reza M. Biodegradation of polyethylene terephthalate microplastics by bacterial communities from activated sludge. CAN J CHEM ENG 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/cjce.24015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Torena
- Department of Chemical Engineering Ryerson University Toronto Ontario Canada
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16
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Anna G, Magdalena S. Diversity among activated sludge in vacuum degassed laboratory systems. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2021; 281:111870. [PMID: 33434764 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2020] [Revised: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Vacuum degassing of activated sludge is a technology used to improve sludge settling. By improving the settling ability of the sludge, a higher amount of biomass can be kept in the bioreactor, which further results in better wastewater treatment results. However, the momentaneous vacuum exposition has been found a stress agent for activated sludge flocs and bacteria and may cause changes in sludge activity. However, no biological studies on the long-term intermittent application of vacuum to activated sludge have been published so far. The question arises whether the improvement in the degree of wastewater treatment results from an increase in the amount of biomass involved in the treatment process or does the change in pressure stimulate bacteria to increased activity? The study aimed to examine whether and how cyclic pressure reduction in the biological system affects the activity and composition of bacterial biocenosis of activated sludge. Three sequencing batch reactors were operated for almost three months. The work cycle of two of them included a vacuum degassing stage inserted between reaction and settling stage. Degassing was obtained with a pressure of 300 or 30 hPa. In addition to the wastewater quality analyzes, the microbial activity, number and variety of activated sludge bacteria and the characteristics of activated sludge flocs were determined. There were no significant differences between the reactors in the obtained effects of nutrient removal. All reactors showed organic compounds removal around 93%, and 40% and 58% of nitrogen and phosphorus removal, respectively. Obtained differences in respiratory and dehydrogenase activity were not significant. The biodiversity assessed with DNA sequencing revealed sludge enrichment with unclassified bacteria. Moreover, vacuum degassing caused flocs disintegration. In both the vacuum degassing reactors, the floc size range was much narrower than that of the control sludge. In the sludge degassed with a pressure of 30 hPa, the flocs were 25-80% smaller than in the sludge without the influence of a vacuum. The total number of bacteria was comparable among the reactors, however, in the reactor with degassing pressure of 30 hPa, the share of dead bacteria in the activated sludge (11%) was significantly lower than in other reactors (about 16%). The concentration of extracellular polymers in activated sludge was up to 87% higher when using vacuum degassing of 30 hPa than in other reactors. The results of the presented research show that the changes in the activated sludge occurring under the influence of vacuum degassing do not change the effectiveness of wastewater treatment, but may alter the community composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gnida Anna
- Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka Str. 2A, 44-100, Gliwice, Poland; Biotechnology Centre, Silesian University of Technology, Krzywoustego Str. 8, 44-100, Gliwice, Poland.
| | - Skonieczna Magdalena
- Biotechnology Centre, Silesian University of Technology, Krzywoustego Str. 8, 44-100, Gliwice, Poland; Faculty of Automatic Control, Electronics and Computer Science, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka Str. 16, 44-100, Gliwice, Poland
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17
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Abstract
The aquatic ecosystem is continuously threatened by the infiltration and discharge of anthropogenic wastewaters. This issue requires the unending improvement of monitoring systems to become more comprehensive and specific to targeted pollutants. This review intended to elucidate the overall aspects explored by researchers in developing better water pollution monitoring tools in recent years. The discussion is encircled around three main elements that have been extensively used as the basis for the development of monitoring methods, namely the dissolved compounds, bacterial indicator, and nucleic acids. The latest technologies applied in wastewater and surface water mapped from these key players were reviewed and categorized into physicochemical and compound characterizations, biomonitoring, and molecular approaches in taxonomical and functional analyses. Overall, researchers are continuously rallying to enhance the detection of causal source for water pollution through either conventional or mostly advanced approaches focusing on spectrometry, high-throughput sequencing, and flow cytometry technology among others. From this review’s perspective, each pollution evaluation technology has its own advantages and it would be beneficial for several aspects of pollutants assessments to be combined and established as a complementary package for better aquatic environmental management in the long run.
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18
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Cai YM. Non-surface Attached Bacterial Aggregates: A Ubiquitous Third Lifestyle. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:557035. [PMID: 33343514 PMCID: PMC7746683 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.557035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacteria are now generally believed to adopt two main lifestyles: planktonic individuals, or surface-attached biofilms. However, in recent years medical microbiologists started to stress that suspended bacterial aggregates are a major form of bacterial communities in chronic infection sites. Despite sharing many similarities with surface-attached biofilms and are thus generally defined as biofilm-like aggregates, these non-attached clumps of cells in vivo show much smaller sizes and different formation mechanisms. Furthermore, ex vivo clinical isolates were frequently reported to be less attached to abiotic surfaces when compared to standard type strains. While this third lifestyle is starting to draw heavy attention in clinical studies, it has a long history in natural and environmental sciences. For example, marine gel particles formed by bacteria attachment to phytoplankton exopolymers have been well documented in oceans; large river and lake snows loaded with bacterial aggregates are frequently found in freshwater systems; multispecies bacterial "flocs" have long been used in wastewater treatment. This review focuses on non-attached aggregates found in a variety of natural and clinical settings, as well as some recent technical developments facilitating aggregate research. The aim is to summarise the characteristics of different types of bacterial aggregates, bridging the knowledge gap, provoking new perspectives for researchers from different fields, and highlighting the importance of more research input in this third lifestyle of bacteria closely relevant to our daily life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Ming Cai
- National Biofilms Innovation Centre, Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
- Biological Sciences, Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
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19
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Du H, Wu Y, Wu H. Dissolved organic matter and bacterial population changes during the treatment of solid potato waste in a microbial fuel cell. WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY : A JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION ON WATER POLLUTION RESEARCH 2020; 82:1982-1994. [PMID: 33263577 DOI: 10.2166/wst.2020.480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated the effect of mixed feeding of anaerobically cultured waste activated sludge (WAS) on the performance of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) in the treatment of solid potato waste. The maximum current densities of the four MFCs was estimated as 36, 5, 10 and 150 mA/m2, with the columbic efficiencies of 6.1, 0.3, 0.9 and 31.1%, respectively. Composition changes of dissolved organic matter (DOM) coupled with its interrelation with electricity generation and total and viable bacterial population at the end of the operation were investigated. The experimental results demonstrated that mixing WAS into solid potato enhanced the presence of the tyrosine-like aromatic amino acids and aromatic protein-like substances from the beginning of the operation and promoted hydrolysis and humification of the solid potato. In the final solution of the anodic chamber, more viable bacteria were detected for the reactors treating solid potato alone and the mixed feedstock with the smaller amount of sludge, where distinct electricity generation was observed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haixia Du
- College of Urban Construction, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211800, China E-mail:
| | - Yanxia Wu
- College of Urban Construction, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211800, China E-mail:
| | - Huifang Wu
- College of Urban Construction, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211800, China E-mail:
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20
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Foladori P, Petrini S, Bruni L, Andreottola G. Bacteria and photosynthetic cells in a photobioreactor treating real municipal wastewater: Analysis and quantification using flow cytometry. ALGAL RES 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2020.101969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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21
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Gallego S, Barkay T, Fahrenfeld NL. Tagging the vanA gene in wastewater microbial communities for cell sorting and taxonomy of vanA carrying cells. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 732:138865. [PMID: 32417556 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Revised: 04/18/2020] [Accepted: 04/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Failure to understand the microbial ecology driving the proliferation of antibiotic resistance in the environment prevents us from developing strategies to limit the spread of antibiotic resistant infectious disease. In this study, we developed for the first time a tyramide signal amplification-fluorescence in situ hybridization-fluorescence-activated cell sorting protocol (TSA-FISH-FACS) for the characterization of all vanA carrying bacteria in wastewater samples. Firstly, we validated the TSA-FISH protocol through microscopy in pure cultures and wastewater influent. Then, samples were sorted and quantified by FACS and qPCR. Significantly higher percentage tagging of cells was detected in vanA carrying pure cultures and wastewater samples spiked with vanA carrying cells as compared to vanA negative Gram positive strains and non-spiked wastewater samples respectively. qPCR analysis targeting vanZ, a regulating gene in the vanA cluster, showed its relative abundance was significantly greater in Enterococcus faecium ATCC 700221-spiked and positively sorted samples compared to the E. faecium spiked and negatively sorted samples. Phylogenetic analysis was then performed. Although further efforts are needed to overcome technical problems, we have, for the first time, demonstrated sorting bacterial-cells carrying antibiotic resistance genes from wastewater samples through a TSA-FISH-FACS protocol and provided insight into the microbial ecology of vancomycin resistant bacteria. Future potential applications using this approach will include the separation of members of an environmental microbial community (cultured and hard-to-culture) to allow for metagenomics on single cells or, in the case of clumping, targeting a smaller portion of the community with a priori knowledge that the target gene is present.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Gallego
- Civil & Environmental Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 500 Bartholomew Rd., Piscataway, NJ 08854, United States of America
| | - Tamar Barkay
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, 76 Lipman Dr, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, United States of America
| | - N L Fahrenfeld
- Civil & Environmental Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 500 Bartholomew Rd., Piscataway, NJ 08854, United States of America.
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22
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Chen S, Dong B, Yang D, Li N, Dai X. Micron-sized silica particles in wastewater influenced the distribution of organic matters in sludge and their anaerobic degradation. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2020; 393:122340. [PMID: 32213426 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Revised: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The influence of micron-sized silica particles on the distribution of organic matters in sludge and anaerobic degradation of macromolecular organic components (MOCs) in sludge was investigated. With the addition of micron-sized particles in the influent (VS/TS decreased gradually from 90.46 ± 0.21 % to 33.36 ± 0.17 %), the protein degradation percentage was significantly promoted while the polysaccharides degradation percentage was largely inhibited, resulting in the total MOCs degradation and methane production increasing firstly (with the promotion extent within 10 %) and then declining slightly, with the peak value at VS/TS of 56.03 ± 0.21 %. The shifted degradation percentage of protein and polysaccharides were caused by the significant changed distribution of organic matters in sludge. With the addition of micron-sized silica particles, the MW of EPS and secondary structure of protein in EPS changed little, which brought about little influence. While, the promoted extracellular protein content (so that the total protein content) and declined extracellular carbohydrates content (so that the total polysaccharides content), were found to be strongly correlated to the enhanced protein degradation and inhibited polysaccharides degradation. The results suggested that large amounts of grit in sludge might not be the main reason for lower degradability of sewage sludge in China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sisi Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China
| | - Bin Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China.
| | - Dianhai Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China.
| | - Ning Li
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China
| | - Xiaohu Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China
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23
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Immobilization of Phosphatidylserine by Ethanol and Lysozyme on the Cell Surface for Evaluation of Apoptosis-Like Decay in Activated-Sludge Bacteria. Appl Environ Microbiol 2020; 86:AEM.00345-20. [PMID: 32414801 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00345-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 04/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Accurate determination of microbial viability can be crucial in microbe-dominated biosystems. However, the identification of metabolic decay in bacterial cells can be elaborate and difficult. We sought to identify apoptosis-like bacterial processes by using annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) (AVF), a probe typically used to stain phosphatidylserine (PS) on exposed cell membranes. The bacterial cell wall provides a barrier that is responsible for low efficiency of direct PS staining of decayed bacterial cells. This can be overcome by pretreatment of the bacteria with 70% ethanol, which fixates the bacteria and preserves the PS status, combined with lysozyme treatment to hydrolyze the cell wall. That treatment improved the efficiency of AVF staining considerably, as shown for pure strains of an Ochrobactrum sp. and a Micrococcus sp. Using this method, decayed bacterial cells (induced by starvation) were more strongly stained, indicating externalization of PS to a greater extent than seen for cells harvested at logarithmic growth. A multispecies microbial sludge was artificially decayed by heat treatment or alternating anoxic-oxic treatment, which also induced increased AVF staining, again presumably via decay-related PS externalization. The method developed proved to be efficient for identification of bacterial decay and has potential for the evaluation of multispecies bacterial samples from sources like soil matrix, bioaerosol, and activated sludge.IMPORTANCE Since the externalization of phosphatidylserine (PS) is considered a crucial characteristic of apoptosis, we sought to identify apoptosis-like decay in bacterial cells by PS staining using AVF. We show that this is possible, provided the bacteria are pretreated with ethanol plus lysozyme to remove a physical staining barrier and preserve the original, decay-related externalization of PS. Our work suggests that PS externalization occurs in starved bacteria and this can be quantified with AVF staining, providing a measure of bacterial decay. Since PS is the common component of the lipid bilayer in bacterial cell membranes, this approach also has potential for evaluation of cell decay of other bacterial species.
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24
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Benito V, Etxebarria J, Goñi-de-Cerio F, Gonzalez I, Brettes P, Urkiaga A. Better understanding of the activated sludge process combining fluorescence-based methods and flow cytometry: A case study. J Environ Sci (China) 2020; 90:51-58. [PMID: 32081340 DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2019.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Revised: 11/12/2019] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
This study aims to demonstrate the validity of fluorescence-based methods, together with flow cytometry, as a complementary tool to conventional physicochemical analyses carried out in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), for the control of the currently largely unknown activated sludge process. Staining with SYTO 9, propidium iodide and 5-(and 6)-carboxy-2',7'-difluorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (carboxy-H2DFFDA) was used for cell viability and oxidative stress monitoring of the bacterial population forming the activated sludge of a WWTP. Throughout the period of research, several unstable periods were detected, where the non-viable bacteria exceeded the 75% of the total bacterial population in the activated sludge, but only in one case the cells with oxidative stress grew to 9%, exceeding the typical values of 2%-5% of this plant. These periods coincided in two cases with high values of total suspended solids (SST) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the effluent, and with an excess of ammonia in other case. A correlation between flow cytometric and physicochemical data was found, which enabled to clarify the possible origin of each case of instability in the biological system. This experience supports the application of bacterial fluorescence staining, together with flow cytometric analysis, as a simple, rapid and reliable tool for the control and better understanding of the bacteria dynamics in a biological wastewater treatment process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanesa Benito
- GAIKER, Parque Tecnológico, Ed. 202, 48170, Zamudio, Bizkaia, Spain.
| | | | | | - Iñigo Gonzalez
- EDAR Galindo, Bilbao Bizkaia Water Consortium, Sestao 48910, Bizkaia, Spain
| | - Pilar Brettes
- GAIKER, Parque Tecnológico, Ed. 202, 48170, Zamudio, Bizkaia, Spain
| | - Ana Urkiaga
- GAIKER, Parque Tecnológico, Ed. 202, 48170, Zamudio, Bizkaia, Spain
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25
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Feng Q, Ge R, Sun Y, Fang F, Luo J, Xue Z, Cao J, Li M. Revealing hydrodynamic effects on flocculation performance and surface properties of sludge by comparing aeration and stirring systems via computational fluid dynamics aided calculation. WATER RESEARCH 2020; 172:115500. [PMID: 31986396 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.115500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2019] [Revised: 12/29/2019] [Accepted: 01/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The effects of aeration and stirring systems on the physical properties of sludge were analyzed using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. The aims of this study were to (1) compare the effects of aeration and stirring on sludge properties using the same turbulent mixing intensity, and (2) to reveal the relationship between sludge properties and hydrodynamic indicators to determine how hydrodynamic conditions influence sludge flocculation. Mixing experiments with stirring and aeration were carried out in 2-L beakers with the average velocity gradient (G) set to 90, 190, or 280 s-1. The sludge flocculation performance, zeta potential, and Gibbs free energy (ΔG) were analyzed and the flow velocity, turbulence energy, turbulence dissipation rate, and Kolmogorov microscale were calculated as hydrodynamic parameters. The average flow velocity and the turbulence dissipation rate were obviously higher in the stirring system than in the aeration system at the same G. However, the turbulence energy and Kolmogorov microscale in the aeration system were much higher than those in the stirring system. Both the zeta potential and ΔG were lower in the aeration system than the stirring system. The zeta potential and ΔG results for the two systems suggest that aeration is more beneficial for sludge flocculation than stirring even though the sludge flocculation performance F/F0 in the stirring and aeration systems showed no obvious differences. Significant relationships between hydrodynamic parameters calculated based on the CFD model and average values of sludge properties in the stable phase showed that the Kolmogorov microscale, average flow velocity, and turbulence energy were appropriate hydrodynamic parameters for evaluating the flocculation performance F/F0, zeta potential, and ΔG, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Feng
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China; College of Environment, Hohai University, No. 1 Xikang Road, Nanjing, 210098, China
| | - Ran Ge
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China; College of Environment, Hohai University, No. 1 Xikang Road, Nanjing, 210098, China
| | - Yaqing Sun
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China; College of Environment, Hohai University, No. 1 Xikang Road, Nanjing, 210098, China
| | - Fang Fang
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China; College of Environment, Hohai University, No. 1 Xikang Road, Nanjing, 210098, China
| | - Jingyang Luo
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China; College of Environment, Hohai University, No. 1 Xikang Road, Nanjing, 210098, China
| | - Zhaoxia Xue
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China; College of Environment, Hohai University, No. 1 Xikang Road, Nanjing, 210098, China
| | - Jiashun Cao
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China; College of Environment, Hohai University, No. 1 Xikang Road, Nanjing, 210098, China
| | - Ming Li
- College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China.
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Coggins LX, Larma I, Hinchliffe A, Props R, Ghadouani A. Flow cytometry for rapid characterisation of microbial community dynamics in waste stabilisation ponds. WATER RESEARCH 2020; 169:115243. [PMID: 31704461 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2019.115243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2019] [Revised: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 10/26/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Algal and bacterial communities play a major role in the treatment performance and efficiency of waste stabilisation ponds (WSPs); however, the study of these WSP microbial communities has been challenging. Flow cytometry (FCM) has been used widely as a rapid, culture-independent method of characterising algae and/or bacteria in a range of freshwater and marine environments, and in conventional wastewater treatment processes, but its application to WSP wastewater has been underexplored. In this study, a method for the characterisation of both algal and bacterial microbial populations in WSP wastewater is presented and standardised, using cultures and field samples. We show that SYTO 16 dye is more effective than SYBR Green I for the concurrent detection of both algae and bacteria in samples. Through gating and phenotypic diversity analysis, the FCM results show both spatial and temporal shifts in pond microbial communities. The ability to rapidly determine the spatiotemporal shifts in pond populations is not only important for the improvement of pond operation and monitoring strategies, but also for the planning and management. Flow cytometry has the potential to become a diagnostic tool for ponds to assess treatment performance and determine the most optimal operating conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liah X Coggins
- Department of of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, M051, Crawley, 6009, Western Australia, Australia.
| | - Irma Larma
- Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, M519, Crawley, 6009, Western Australia, Australia.
| | - Amy Hinchliffe
- Department of of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, M051, Crawley, 6009, Western Australia, Australia.
| | - Ruben Props
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000, Gent, Belgium.
| | - Anas Ghadouani
- Department of of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, M051, Crawley, 6009, Western Australia, Australia.
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Hou L, Mulla SI, Niño-Garcia JP, Ning D, Rashid A, Hu A, Yu CP. Deterministic and stochastic processes driving the shift in the prokaryotic community composition in wastewater treatment plants of a coastal Chinese city. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2019; 103:9155-9168. [DOI: 10.1007/s00253-019-10177-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Revised: 08/12/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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Abstract
A major goal in microbial ecology is to understand how microbial community structure influences ecosystem functioning. Various methods to directly associate bacterial taxa to functional groups in the environment are being developed. In this study, we applied machine learning methods to relate taxonomic data obtained from marker gene surveys to functional groups identified by flow cytometry. This allowed us to identify the taxa that are associated with heterotrophic productivity in freshwater lakes and indicated that the key contributors were highly system specific, regularly rare members of the community, and that some could possibly switch between being low and high contributors. Our approach provides a promising framework to identify taxa that contribute to ecosystem functioning and can be further developed to explore microbial contributions beyond heterotrophic production. High-nucleic-acid (HNA) and low-nucleic-acid (LNA) bacteria are two operational groups identified by flow cytometry (FCM) in aquatic systems. A number of reports have shown that HNA cell density correlates strongly with heterotrophic production, while LNA cell density does not. However, which taxa are specifically associated with these groups, and by extension, productivity has remained elusive. Here, we addressed this knowledge gap by using a machine learning-based variable selection approach that integrated FCM and 16S rRNA gene sequencing data collected from 14 freshwater lakes spanning a broad range in physicochemical conditions. There was a strong association between bacterial heterotrophic production and HNA absolute cell abundances (R2 = 0.65), but not with the more abundant LNA cells. This solidifies findings, mainly from marine systems, that HNA and LNA bacteria could be considered separate functional groups, the former contributing a disproportionately large share of carbon cycling. Taxa selected by the models could predict HNA and LNA absolute cell abundances at all taxonomic levels. Selected operational taxonomic units (OTUs) ranged from low to high relative abundance and were mostly lake system specific (89.5% to 99.2%). A subset of selected OTUs was associated with both LNA and HNA groups (12.5% to 33.3%), suggesting either phenotypic plasticity or within-OTU genetic and physiological heterogeneity. These findings may lead to the identification of system-specific putative ecological indicators for heterotrophic productivity. Generally, our approach allows for the association of OTUs with specific functional groups in diverse ecosystems in order to improve our understanding of (microbial) biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships. IMPORTANCE A major goal in microbial ecology is to understand how microbial community structure influences ecosystem functioning. Various methods to directly associate bacterial taxa to functional groups in the environment are being developed. In this study, we applied machine learning methods to relate taxonomic data obtained from marker gene surveys to functional groups identified by flow cytometry. This allowed us to identify the taxa that are associated with heterotrophic productivity in freshwater lakes and indicated that the key contributors were highly system specific, regularly rare members of the community, and that some could possibly switch between being low and high contributors. Our approach provides a promising framework to identify taxa that contribute to ecosystem functioning and can be further developed to explore microbial contributions beyond heterotrophic production.
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Zhu Y, Wang Y, Yan Y, Xue H. Rapid and Sensitive Quantification of Anammox Bacteria by Flow Cytometric Analysis Based on Catalyzed Reporter Deposition Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2019; 53:6895-6905. [PMID: 31120737 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b01017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The quantification of anammox bacteria is crucial to manipulation and management of anammox biosystems. In this study, we proposed a protocol specifically optimized for quantification of anammox bacteria abundance in anammox sludge samples using catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD-FISH) and flow cytometry (FCM) in combination (Flow-CARD-FISH). We optimized the pretreatment procedures for FCM-compatibility, as well as the permeabilization, hybridization and staining protocols of the CARD-FISH. The developed method was compared with other methods for specific bacteria quantification (standard FISH, 16S rRNA sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction). Anammox sludge samples could be disaggregated effectively by sonication (specific energy of 90 kJ·L-1 with MLVSS of 3-5 g·L-1) with the mixed ionic and nonionic dispersants Triton X-100 (5%) and sodium pyrophosphate (10 mM). Lysozyme treatment for permeabilizing bacterial cell walls and H2O2 incubation for completely quenching endogenous peroxidase of anammox sludges were essential to fluorescence enhancement and false positive signals control, respectively. Horseradish peroxidase molecules labeling at 20 °C for 12 h and the fluorescent tyramide labeling at 25 °C for 30 min with a fluorescent substrate concentration of 1:50 maintained the balance between increasing the signal and preventing nonspecific binding. Flow-CARD-FISH results showed that anammox bacteria absolute abundance in two different sludge samples were (2.31 ± 0.01) × 107 and (1.20 ± 0.06) × 107 cells·mL-1, respectively, with the relative abundances of 36.7 ± 4.1% and 26.5 ± 3.7%, respectively, comparable with those of qPCR and 16S rRNA sequencing analysis. The enhanced fluorescence signals induced by CARD-FISH combined with the high quantitative fluorescence sensitivity of FCM provide a rapid and sensitive method that yields accurate quantification results that will be valuable in future studies of microbial community determination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yijing Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering , Tongji University , Siping Road , Shanghai 200092 , P. R. China
| | - Yayi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering , Tongji University , Siping Road , Shanghai 200092 , P. R. China
| | - Yuan Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering , Tongji University , Siping Road , Shanghai 200092 , P. R. China
| | - Hao Xue
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering , Tongji University , Siping Road , Shanghai 200092 , P. R. China
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30
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Lian H, He S, Chen C, Yan X. Flow Cytometric Analysis of Nanoscale Biological Particles and Organelles. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY (PALO ALTO, CALIF.) 2019; 12:389-409. [PMID: 30978294 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-anchem-061318-115042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Analysis of nanoscale biological particles and organelles (BPOs) at the single-particle level is fundamental to the in-depth study of biosciences. Flow cytometry is a versatile technique that has been well-established for the analysis of eukaryotic cells, yet conventional flow cytometry can hardly meet the sensitivity requirement for nanoscale BPOs. Recent advances in high-sensitivity flow cytometry have made it possible to conduct precise, sensitive, and specific analyses of nanoscale BPOs, with exceptional benefits for bacteria, mitochondria, viruses, and extracellular vesicles (EVs). In this article, we discuss the significance, challenges, and efforts toward sensitivity enhancement, followed by the introduction of flow cytometric analysis of nanoscale BPOs. With the development of the nano-flow cytometer that can detect single viruses and EVs as small as 27 nm and 40 nm, respectively, more exciting applications in nanoscale BPO analysis can be envisioned.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Chaoxiang Chen
- MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis and Instrumentation; Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province; Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Material; and Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005, China;
| | - Xiaomei Yan
- MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis and Instrumentation; Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province; Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Material; and Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005, China;
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31
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Wu L, Ning D, Zhang B, Li Y, Zhang P, Shan X, Zhang Q, Brown MR, Li Z, Van Nostrand JD, Ling F, Xiao N, Zhang Y, Vierheilig J, Wells GF, Yang Y, Deng Y, Tu Q, Wang A, Zhang T, He Z, Keller J, Nielsen PH, Alvarez PJJ, Criddle CS, Wagner M, Tiedje JM, He Q, Curtis TP, Stahl DA, Alvarez-Cohen L, Rittmann BE, Wen X, Zhou J. Global diversity and biogeography of bacterial communities in wastewater treatment plants. Nat Microbiol 2019; 4:1183-1195. [PMID: 31086312 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-019-0426-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 351] [Impact Index Per Article: 70.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 03/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Microorganisms in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are essential for water purification to protect public and environmental health. However, the diversity of microorganisms and the factors that control it are poorly understood. Using a systematic global-sampling effort, we analysed the 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences from ~1,200 activated sludge samples taken from 269 WWTPs in 23 countries on 6 continents. Our analyses revealed that the global activated sludge bacterial communities contain ~1 billion bacterial phylotypes with a Poisson lognormal diversity distribution. Despite this high diversity, activated sludge has a small, global core bacterial community (n = 28 operational taxonomic units) that is strongly linked to activated sludge performance. Meta-analyses with global datasets associate the activated sludge microbiomes most closely to freshwater populations. In contrast to macroorganism diversity, activated sludge bacterial communities show no latitudinal gradient. Furthermore, their spatial turnover is scale-dependent and appears to be largely driven by stochastic processes (dispersal and drift), although deterministic factors (temperature and organic input) are also important. Our findings enhance our mechanistic understanding of the global diversity and biogeography of activated sludge bacterial communities within a theoretical ecology framework and have important implications for microbial ecology and wastewater treatment processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linwei Wu
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.,Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, and School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Daliang Ning
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.,Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, and School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.,Consolidated Core Laboratory, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Bing Zhang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.,Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, and School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Yong Li
- College of Resource and Environment Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Ping Zhang
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, and School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.,Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research, Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Xiaoyu Shan
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Qiuting Zhang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | | | - Zhenxin Li
- School of Environment, Northeastern Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Joy D Van Nostrand
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, and School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Fangqiong Ling
- Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - Naijia Xiao
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, and School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.,Consolidated Core Laboratory, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Ya Zhang
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, and School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Julia Vierheilig
- Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Division of Microbial Ecology, Research Network 'Chemistry meets Microbiology', University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.,Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Division of Water Quality and Health, Krems, Austria and Interuniversity Cooperation Centre for Water and Health, Krems, Austria
| | - George F Wells
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Yunfeng Yang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Ye Deng
- Institute for Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China.,Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Qichao Tu
- Institute for Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
| | - Aijie Wang
- Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | | | - Tong Zhang
- Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Zhili He
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jurg Keller
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Per H Nielsen
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Center for Microbial Communities, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Pedro J J Alvarez
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Craig S Criddle
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Michael Wagner
- Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Division of Microbial Ecology, Research Network 'Chemistry meets Microbiology', University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - James M Tiedje
- Center for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Qiang He
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA. .,Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA.
| | - Thomas P Curtis
- School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
| | - David A Stahl
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Lisa Alvarez-Cohen
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.,Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Bruce E Rittmann
- Biodesign Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Xianghua Wen
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
| | - Jizhong Zhou
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. .,Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, and School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA. .,Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA.
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32
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Brown M, Hands C, Coello-Garcia T, Sani B, Ott A, Smith S, Davenport R. A flow cytometry method for bacterial quantification and biomass estimates in activated sludge. J Microbiol Methods 2019; 160:73-83. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mimet.2019.03.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2019] [Revised: 03/15/2019] [Accepted: 03/25/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Ren G, Zhou M, Su P, Yang W, Lu X, Zhang Y. Simultaneous sulfadiazines degradation and disinfection from municipal secondary effluent by a flow-through electro-Fenton process with graphene-modified cathode. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2019; 368:830-839. [PMID: 30743230 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.01.109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2018] [Revised: 01/29/2019] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Conventionally the deep treatment and disinfection are fulfilled by different processes for municipal wastewater treatment, this work verified a breakthrough by one process of novel flow-through electro-Fenton (EF) with graphene-modified cathode, which is usually seemed to be ineffective. This process was firstly confirmed to be cost-effective for simultaneous sulfadiazines (SDZs) degradation and disinfection from municipal secondary effluent with a very low electrical energy consumption (EEC) of 0.21 kW h/m3, attributed to the high H2O2 production of 4.41 mg/h/cm2 on the novel graphite felt cathode modified by electrochemically exfoliated graphene (EEGr) with a low EEC of 3.08 kW h/(kg H2O2). Compared with the ineffective SDZs degradation by the conventional flow EF, this process was more cost-effective and overcame the harsh requirements on electrolyte concentration. It also showed good effectiveness in the degradation of different antibiotics, and the graphene-modified cathode still kept stable performance after eight consecutive runs. Account for the combined action of OH and active chlorine, the formation of hydroxylated and chlorine containing by-products was confirmed, and a possible degradation mechanism for SDZs was proposed. This flow-through EF process provided an alternative method for the disinfection and antibiotics degradation by one process for the treatment and reuse of municipal secondary effluent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gengbo Ren
- Key Laboratory of Pollution Process and Environmental Criteria, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Urban Ecology Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China; Tianjin Advanced Water Treatment Technology International Joint Research Center, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Technology for Complex Trans-Media Pollution, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China
| | - Minghua Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Pollution Process and Environmental Criteria, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Urban Ecology Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China; Tianjin Advanced Water Treatment Technology International Joint Research Center, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Technology for Complex Trans-Media Pollution, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China.
| | - Pei Su
- Key Laboratory of Pollution Process and Environmental Criteria, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Urban Ecology Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China; Tianjin Advanced Water Treatment Technology International Joint Research Center, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Technology for Complex Trans-Media Pollution, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China
| | - Weilu Yang
- Key Laboratory of Pollution Process and Environmental Criteria, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Urban Ecology Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China; Tianjin Advanced Water Treatment Technology International Joint Research Center, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Technology for Complex Trans-Media Pollution, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China
| | - Xiaoye Lu
- Key Laboratory of Pollution Process and Environmental Criteria, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Urban Ecology Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China; Tianjin Advanced Water Treatment Technology International Joint Research Center, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Technology for Complex Trans-Media Pollution, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China
| | - Yinqiao Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Pollution Process and Environmental Criteria, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Urban Ecology Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China; Tianjin Advanced Water Treatment Technology International Joint Research Center, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Technology for Complex Trans-Media Pollution, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China
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Safford HR, Bischel HN. Flow cytometry applications in water treatment, distribution, and reuse: A review. WATER RESEARCH 2019; 151:110-133. [PMID: 30594081 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2018.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2018] [Revised: 11/30/2018] [Accepted: 12/01/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Ensuring safe and effective water treatment, distribution, and reuse requires robust methods for characterizing and monitoring waterborne microbes. Methods widely used today can be limited by low sensitivity, high labor and time requirements, susceptibility to interference from inhibitory compounds, and difficulties in distinguishing between viable and non-viable cells. Flow cytometry (FCM) has recently gained attention as an alternative approach that can overcome many of these challenges. This article critically and systematically reviews for the first time recent literature on applications of FCM in water treatment, distribution, and reuse. In the review, we identify and examine nearly 300 studies published from 2000 to 2018 that illustrate the benefits and challenges of using FCM for assessing source-water quality and impacts of treatment-plant discharge on receiving waters, wastewater treatment, drinking water treatment, and drinking water distribution. We then discuss options for combining FCM with other indicators of water quality and address several topics that cut across nearly all applications reviewed. Finally, we identify priority areas in which more work is needed to realize the full potential of this approach. These include optimizing protocols for FCM-based analysis of waterborne viruses, optimizing protocols for specifically detecting target pathogens, automating sample handling and preparation to enable real-time FCM, developing computational tools to assist data analysis, and improving standards for instrumentation, methods, and reporting requirements. We conclude that while more work is needed to realize the full potential of FCM in water treatment, distribution, and reuse, substantial progress has been made over the past two decades. There is now a sufficiently large body of research documenting successful applications of FCM that the approach could reasonably and realistically see widespread adoption as a routine method for water quality assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah R Safford
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California Davis, 2001 Ghausi Hall, 480 Bainer Hall Drive, 95616, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Heather N Bischel
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California Davis, 2001 Ghausi Hall, 480 Bainer Hall Drive, 95616, Davis, CA, United States.
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35
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Zhang G, Li B, Guo F, Liu J, Luan M, Liu Y, Guan Y. Taxonomic relatedness and environmental pressure synergistically drive the primary succession of biofilm microbial communities in reclaimed wastewater distribution systems. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2019; 124:25-37. [PMID: 30639905 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2018.12.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2018] [Revised: 12/17/2018] [Accepted: 12/17/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Compared to drinking water, the higher bacterial abundance, diversity, and organic matter concentration in reclaimed wastewater suggest that it is more likely to form biofilms. Nevertheless, little is known regarding many important aspects of the biofilm ecology in reclaimed wastewater distribution systems (RWDS), such as the long-term microbial community succession and the underlying driving factors. In the present study, by sampling and analysing microbial compositions of pipe wall biofilms from six frequently used pipe materials under NaClOdisinfection (sodium hypochlorite-treated), NONdisinfection (without disinfection), and UVdisinfection (UV-treated) treatments over one year, it was found that the succession of microbial community structure followed a primary succession pattern. This primary succession pattern was reflected as increases in live cell number and α-diversity, along with metagenic succession in taxonomic composition. Proteobacteria, Nitrospirae, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria, Planctomycetes, Actinobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia comprised the dominant phyla in biofilm samples. Compared to biofilms in the NaClOdisinfection reactor, the bacterial communities of biofilms in NONdisinfection and UVdisinfection reactors were distributed more evenly among different bacterial phyla. Principal component analysis revealed a clear temporal pattern of microbial community structures in six kinds of pipe wall biofilms albeit a difference in microbial community structures among the three reactors. Adonis testing indicated that the microbial community composition variation caused by disinfection methods (R2 = 0.283, P < 0.01) was more pronounced than that from the time variable (R2 = 0.070, P < 0.01) and pipe material (R2 = 0.057, P < 0.01). Significantly positive correlation between average local abundance and occupancy was observed in biofilm communities of the three reactors, suggesting that the 'core-satellite' model could be applied to identify biofilm-preferential species under specific disinfection conditions in RWDS. The prevalence of family Sphingomonadaceae, known to show chlorine tolerance and powerful biofilm-forming ability in NaClOdisinfection reactors, evidenced the habitat filtering consequent to environment pressure. Correlation-based network analysis revealed that taxonomic relatedness such as similar niches, cooperation, taxa overdispersion, and competition all functioned toward driving the bacterial assembly succession in RWDS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guijuan Zhang
- Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for Urban Water Recycling and Environmental Safety, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Bing Li
- Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for Urban Water Recycling and Environmental Safety, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
| | - Feng Guo
- School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Jie Liu
- Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for Urban Water Recycling and Environmental Safety, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Mingqiang Luan
- Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for Urban Water Recycling and Environmental Safety, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Yang Liu
- Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for Urban Water Recycling and Environmental Safety, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuntao Guan
- Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for Urban Water Recycling and Environmental Safety, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
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36
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The utility of flow cytometry for potable reuse. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2019; 57:42-49. [PMID: 30684865 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2018.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2018] [Revised: 12/03/2018] [Accepted: 12/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Protecting public health from pathogens is critical when treating wastewater to drinking water standards (i.e., planned water reuse). Viruses are a principal concern, yet real-time monitoring strategies do not currently measure virus removal through reuse processes. Flow cytometry (FCM) has enabled rapid and sensitive bacteria monitoring in water treatment applications, but methods for virus and protozoa monitoring remain immature. We discuss recent advances in the FCM field and FCM applications for quantifying microorganisms in water. We focus on flow virometry (FVM) developments, as virus enumeration methods show promise for water reuse applications. Ultimately, we propose FVM for near real-time monitoring across treatment to more accurately validate virus particle removal and for pilot studies to characterize removal through understudied unit processes.
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37
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Amalfitano S, Levantesi C, Garrelly L, Giacosa D, Bersani F, Rossetti S. Water Quality and Total Microbial Load: A Double-Threshold Identification Procedure Intended for Space Applications. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:2903. [PMID: 30574126 PMCID: PMC6291452 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.02903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2018] [Accepted: 11/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
During longer-lasting future space missions, water renewal by ground-loaded supplies will become increasingly expensive and unmanageable for months. Space exploration by self-sufficient spacecrafts is thus demanding the development of culture-independent microbiological methods for in-flight water monitoring to counteract possible contamination risks. In this study, we aimed at evaluating total microbial load data assessed by selected early-warning techniques with current or promising perspectives for space applications (i.e., HPC, ATP-metry, qPCR, flow cytometry), through the analysis of water sources with constitutively different contamination levels (i.e., chlorinated and unchlorinated tap waters, groundwaters, river waters, wastewaters). Using a data-driven double-threshold identification procedure, we presented new reference values of water quality based on the assessment of the total microbial load. Our approach is suitable to provide an immediate alert of microbial load peaks, thus enhancing the crew responsiveness in case of unexpected events due to water contamination and treatment failure. Finally, the backbone dataset could help in managing water quality and monitoring issues for both space and Earth-based applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Amalfitano
- Water Research Institute – National Research Council of Italy, Monterotondo, Italy
| | - Caterina Levantesi
- Water Research Institute – National Research Council of Italy, Monterotondo, Italy
| | | | - Donatella Giacosa
- Centro Ricerche SMAT, Società Metropolitana Acque Torino S.p.A., Turin, Italy
| | - Francesca Bersani
- Centro Ricerche SMAT, Società Metropolitana Acque Torino S.p.A., Turin, Italy
| | - Simona Rossetti
- Water Research Institute – National Research Council of Italy, Monterotondo, Italy
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38
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Cai J, Nichols RG, Koo I, Kalikow ZA, Zhang L, Tian Y, Zhang J, Smith PB, Patterson AD. Multiplatform Physiologic and Metabolic Phenotyping Reveals Microbial Toxicity. mSystems 2018; 3:e00123-18. [PMID: 30417115 PMCID: PMC6222046 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00123-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2018] [Accepted: 10/11/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The gut microbiota is susceptible to modulation by environmental stimuli and therefore can serve as a biological sensor. Recent evidence suggests that xenobiotics can disrupt the interaction between the microbiota and host. Here, we describe an approach that combines in vitro microbial incubation (isolated cecal contents from mice), flow cytometry, and mass spectrometry- and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics to evaluate xenobiotic-induced microbial toxicity. Tempol, a stabilized free radical scavenger known to remodel the microbial community structure and function in vivo, was studied to assess its direct effect on the gut microbiota. The microbiota was isolated from mouse cecum and was exposed to tempol for 4 h under strict anaerobic conditions. The flow cytometry data suggested that short-term tempol exposure to the microbiota is associated with disrupted membrane physiology as well as compromised metabolic activity. Mass spectrometry and NMR metabolomics revealed that tempol exposure significantly disrupted microbial metabolic activity, specifically indicated by changes in short-chain fatty acids, branched-chain amino acids, amino acids, nucleotides, glucose, and oligosaccharides. In addition, a mouse study with tempol (5 days gavage) showed similar microbial physiologic and metabolic changes, indicating that the in vitro approach reflected in vivo conditions. Our results, through evaluation of microbial viability, physiology, and metabolism and a comparison of in vitro and in vivo exposures with tempol, suggest that physiologic and metabolic phenotyping can provide unique insight into gut microbiota toxicity. IMPORTANCE The gut microbiota is modulated physiologically, compositionally, and metabolically by xenobiotics, potentially causing metabolic consequences to the host. We recently reported that tempol, a stabilized free radical nitroxide, can exert beneficial effects on the host through modulation of the microbiome community structure and function. Here, we investigated a multiplatform phenotyping approach that combines high-throughput global metabolomics with flow cytometry to evaluate the direct effect of tempol on the microbiota. This approach may be useful in deciphering how other xenobiotics directly influence the microbiota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingwei Cai
- Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Robert G. Nichols
- Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Imhoi Koo
- Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Zachary A. Kalikow
- Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Limin Zhang
- Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
- CAS Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, National Centre for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Wuhan, China
| | - Yuan Tian
- Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
- CAS Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, National Centre for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Wuhan, China
| | - Jingtao Zhang
- Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Philip B. Smith
- Metabolomics Facility, Huck Institutes of Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Andrew D. Patterson
- Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
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Pre-treatments to enhance the biodegradability of waste activated sludge: Elucidating the rate limiting step. Biotechnol Adv 2018; 36:1434-1469. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2018.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 134] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2017] [Revised: 05/09/2018] [Accepted: 06/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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40
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Hallaji SM, Torabian A, Aminzadeh B, Zahedi S, Eshtiaghi N. Improvement of anaerobic digestion of sewage mixed sludge using free nitrous acid and Fenton pre-treatment. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2018; 11:233. [PMID: 30181773 PMCID: PMC6112153 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-018-1235-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2018] [Accepted: 08/22/2018] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recently, it has been indicated that free nitrous acid (FNA) and Fenton pre-treatment of waste activated sludge can enhance methane production in anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge. In addition, it has been revealed that the substances used in these pre-treatments are both eco-friendly and economically attractive because not only are they produced in anaerobic digestion, but they are also low priced. Since primary sludge and waste activated sludge are mixed prior to anaerobic digestion in the majority of wastewater treatment plants, this study aims to assess the influence of combined FNA and Fenton on the anaerobic digestion of mixed sludge. RESULTS According to this study's results, methane generation from anaerobic digestion of mixed sludge was enhanced when using FNA and Fenton pre-treatment, affirming the effectiveness of the individual and combined pre-treatments in anaerobic digestion of mixed sludge. The enhanced methane production was significant in combined pre-treatments (up to 72%), compared with FNA and Fenton pre-treatment alone (25% and 27%, respectively). This corroborates the positive synergistic effect of the combined pre-treatments on methane production. The enhanced methane can be attributed to augmented soluble fractions of organic matter in addition to increased readily biodegradable organic matter, caused by the pre-treatments. Additionally, the amount of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was assessed during anaerobic digestion, and it was revealed that COD decreased considerably when the pre-treatment strategies were combined. CONCLUSIONS This study reveals that the pre-treatments are potentially applicable to full-scale wastewater treatment plants because a mixture of primary sludge and waste activated sludge was used for the pre-treatments. Additionally, combined FNA and Fenton pre-treatments prove more effective in enhancing methane production and organic removal than these pre-treatments alone. The enhanced methane production is important for two reasons: a higher amount of renewable energy could be generated from the enhanced methane production and the COD of digested sludge reduces in such a way that facilitates application of the sludge to agricultural lands and reduces sludge transport costs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ali Torabian
- School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Behnoush Aminzadeh
- School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Soraya Zahedi
- Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Girona, Spain
| | - Nicky Eshtiaghi
- School of Engineering, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
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41
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Man A, Ciurea CN, Pasaroiu D, Savin AI, Toma F, Sular F, Santacroce L, Mare A. New perspectives on the nutritional factors influencing growth rate of Candida albicans in diabetics. An in vitro study. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 2017; 112:587-592. [PMID: 28902283 PMCID: PMC5572443 DOI: 10.1590/0074-02760170098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2017] [Accepted: 04/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The link between Candida albicans and diabetes mellitus is well-acknowledged, but incompletely elucidated. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study is to assess the growth rate of C. albicans (CA) in the presence of different concentrations of glucose and fructose, two of the main pathophysiologic and nutritionally relevant sugars in diabetic patients, in order to obtain a better understanding of the nutrient acquisition strategy and its possible relation to the hyperglycemic status of diabetic patients. METHODS The effects of different concentrations of glucose and fructose (1000 mg%, 500 mg%, 250 mg% and 100 mg% w/v) on the growth rate of CA have been studied by flow-cytometry. FINDINGS We found that glucose concentration is directly related to CA growth, which may be linked to the frequent yeast infections that occur in non-controlled diabetic patients; we also show that fructose inhibits CA growth rate. MAIN CONCLUSIONS As a consequence of our hypothesis, the study demonstrates that fructose-containing food may prevent the development of candidiasis, at least in oral sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian Man
- University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Microbiology, Tîrgu Mures, Romania
| | | | - Dan Pasaroiu
- University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Tîrgu Mures, Romania
| | | | - Felicia Toma
- University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Microbiology, Tîrgu Mures, Romania.,Emergency Clinical County Hospital, Tîrgu Mures, Romania
| | - Floredana Sular
- University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tîrgu Mures, Romania.,Emergency Clinical County Hospital, Tîrgu Mures, Romania
| | - Luigi Santacroce
- University of Bari Aldo Moro, Policlinico University Hospital, Ionian Department and Microbiology and Virology Service, Bari, Italy
| | - Anca Mare
- University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Microbiology, Tîrgu Mures, Romania
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42
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Collado S, Oulego P, Alonso S, Díaz M. Flow cytometric characterization of bacterial abundance and physiological status in a nitrifying-denitrifying activated sludge system treating landfill leachate. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2017; 24:21262-21271. [PMID: 28741203 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-017-9596-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2017] [Accepted: 06/20/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Flow cytometry has recently been presented as a research tool in the assessment of the viability/activity of activated sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plants, but it has not put in practice for industrial biotreatments yet. In this study, for the first time ever, the reliability and significance of the multiparameter flow cytometry applied to the biological nitrification-denitrification treatment of leachate have been evaluated. Using a double staining procedure (cFDA/PI), the viable, damaged, and dead subpopulations were determined, and the results were compared to those obtained with conventional methods, such as nitrogen and oxygen uptake rates or plate counting. Flow cytometry showed that viable cells represented approximately 47% of the total population, whereas active cells accounted for 90%. For both sludge from nitrification and denitrification processes, with less than 1% of them being also culturable in plate. Either flow cytometry or uptake rates revealed that health status of sludge remained constant throughout the biotreatment, which is consistent with the high recirculation rates. Under anaerobic starvation conditions, physiological status of sludge remained constant as well as specific oxygen and denitrification rates. Nevertheless, both the culturability in plate and the nitrification rate significantly decreased. These findings proved that multiparameter flow cytometry is a useful tool for the assessment of the viability and activity of sludge from a nitrification-denitrification biotreatment process. These results gathered all the bacterial communities in the sludge, so the decay in minority populations, such as nitrifying bacteria, requires the use of a complementary technique to evaluate specific activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Collado
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Paula Oulego
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Saúl Alonso
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Mario Díaz
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.
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43
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Su JQ, An XL, Li B, Chen QL, Gillings MR, Chen H, Zhang T, Zhu YG. Metagenomics of urban sewage identifies an extensively shared antibiotic resistome in China. MICROBIOME 2017; 5:84. [PMID: 28724443 PMCID: PMC5517792 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-017-0298-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 213] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2017] [Accepted: 07/04/2017] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Antibiotic-resistant pathogens are challenging treatment of infections worldwide. Urban sewage is potentially a major conduit for dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes into various environmental compartments. However, the diversity and abundance of such genes in wastewater are not well known. METHODS Here, seasonal and geographical distributions of antibiotic resistance genes and their host bacterial communities from Chinese urban sewage were characterized, using metagenomic analyses and 16S rRNA gene-based Illumina sequencing, respectively. RESULTS In total, 381 different resistance genes were detected, and these genes were extensively shared across China, with no geographical clustering. Seasonal variation in abundance of resistance genes was observed, with average concentrations of 3.27 × 1011 and 1.79 × 1012 copies/L in summer and winter, respectively. Bacterial communities did not exhibit geographical clusters, but did show a significant distance-decay relationship (P < 0.01). The core, shared resistome accounted for 57.7% of the total resistance genes, and was significantly associated with the core microbial community (P < 0.01). The core human gut microbiota was also strongly associated with the shared resistome, demonstrating the potential contribution of human gut microbiota to the dissemination of resistance elements via sewage disposal. CONCLUSIONS This study provides a baseline for investigating environmental dissemination of resistance elements and raises the possibility of using the abundance of resistance genes in sewage as a tool for antibiotic stewardship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian-Qiang Su
- Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, 361021, Xiamen, China
| | - Xin-Li An
- Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, 361021, Xiamen, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, 100049, Beijing, China
| | - Bing Li
- Division of Energy & Environment, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, 518055, Shenzhen, China
| | - Qing-Lin Chen
- Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, 361021, Xiamen, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, 100049, Beijing, China
| | - Michael R Gillings
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Hong Chen
- Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Tong Zhang
- Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Yong-Guan Zhu
- Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, 361021, Xiamen, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100085, Beijing, China.
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44
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Zhang Z, Qu Y, Li S, Feng K, Wang S, Cai W, Liang Y, Li H, Xu M, Yin H, Deng Y. Soil bacterial quantification approaches coupling with relative abundances reflecting the changes of taxa. Sci Rep 2017; 7:4837. [PMID: 28684789 PMCID: PMC5500469 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-05260-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2017] [Accepted: 05/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the abundance change of certain bacterial taxa is quite important for the study of soil microbiology. However, the observed differences of relative abundances by high-throughput techniques may not accurately reflect those of the actual taxon abundances. This study investigated whether soil microbial abundances coupling with microbial quantities can be more informative in describing the microbial population distribution under different locations. We analyzed relative abundances of the major species in soil microbial communities from Beijing and Tibet grasslands by using 16 S rRNA high-throughput sequencing technique, and quantified the absolute bacterial cell numbers directly or indirectly by multiple culture-independent measurements, including adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP), flow cytometry (FCM), quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) and microbial biomass Carbon (MBC). By comparison of the relative abundance and the estimated absolute abundances (EAA) of the major components in soil microbial communities, several dominant phyla, including Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonates and Planctomycetes, showed significantly different trends. These results indicated that the change in EAA might be more informative in describing the dynamics of a population in a community. Further studies of soil microbes should combine the quantification and relative abundances of the microbial communities for the comparisons among various locations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaojing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China.,Key Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Yuanyuan Qu
- State Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China.
| | - Shuzhen Li
- State Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China.,Key Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Kai Feng
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Shang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Weiwei Cai
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China.,State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology (SKLUWRE, HIT), Harbin, 150090, China
| | - Yuting Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China
| | - Hui Li
- State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China
| | - Meiying Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangzhou, 510070, China
| | - Huaqun Yin
- School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China
| | - Ye Deng
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China. .,College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
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45
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Duedu KO, French CE. Data for discriminating dead/live bacteria in homogenous cell suspensions and the effect of insoluble substrates on turbidimetric measurements. Data Brief 2017; 12:169-174. [PMID: 28443295 PMCID: PMC5394208 DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2017.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2017] [Revised: 03/28/2017] [Accepted: 04/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Estimation of bacterial growth by rapid traditional methods such as spectrophometric measurements at 600 nm (OD600) is not applicable for cultures containing insoluble particles in the growth media. Colony counts are the only suitable alternative but these are laborious and not high-throughput. The data presented in this article is related to the research article entitled “Two-colour fluorescence fluorimetric analysis for direct quantification of bacteria and its application in monitoring bacterial growth in cellulose degradation systems” (Duedu and French, 2017) [1]. This data article presents original primary data describing the discrimination of dead/live bacteria in homogenous cell suspensions and how the presence of insoluble substrates affect the turbidity of the suspensions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kwabena O Duedu
- Institute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, UK.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Basic & Biomedical Sciences, University of Health & Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana
| | - Christopher E French
- Institute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, UK
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46
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Van Nevel S, Koetzsch S, Proctor CR, Besmer MD, Prest EI, Vrouwenvelder JS, Knezev A, Boon N, Hammes F. Flow cytometric bacterial cell counts challenge conventional heterotrophic plate counts for routine microbiological drinking water monitoring. WATER RESEARCH 2017; 113:191-206. [PMID: 28214393 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2017.01.065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2016] [Revised: 01/30/2017] [Accepted: 01/31/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Drinking water utilities and researchers continue to rely on the century-old heterotrophic plate counts (HPC) method for routine assessment of general microbiological water quality. Bacterial cell counting with flow cytometry (FCM) is one of a number of alternative methods that challenge this status quo and provide an opportunity for improved water quality monitoring. After more than a decade of application in drinking water research, FCM methodology is optimised and established for routine application, supported by a considerable amount of data from multiple full-scale studies. Bacterial cell concentrations obtained by FCM enable quantification of the entire bacterial community instead of the minute fraction of cultivable bacteria detected with HPC (typically < 1% of all bacteria). FCM measurements are reproducible with relative standard deviations below 3% and can be available within 15 min of samples arriving in the laboratory. High throughput sample processing and complete automation are feasible and FCM analysis is arguably less expensive than HPC when measuring more than 15 water samples per day, depending on the laboratory and selected staining procedure(s). Moreover, many studies have shown FCM total (TCC) and intact (ICC) cell concentrations to be reliable and robust process variables, responsive to changes in the bacterial abundance and relevant for characterising and monitoring drinking water treatment and distribution systems. The purpose of this critical review is to initiate a constructive discussion on whether FCM could replace HPC in routine water quality monitoring. We argue that FCM provides a faster, more descriptive and more representative quantification of bacterial abundance in drinking water.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Van Nevel
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000, Gent, Belgium
| | - S Koetzsch
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, CH-8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - C R Proctor
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, CH-8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland; Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - M D Besmer
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, CH-8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - E I Prest
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - J S Vrouwenvelder
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands; Wetsus, Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands; King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - A Knezev
- Het Waterlaboratorium, J.W. Lucasweg 2, 2031 BE, Haarlem, The Netherlands
| | - N Boon
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000, Gent, Belgium
| | - F Hammes
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, CH-8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland.
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47
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Duedu KO, French CE. Two-colour fluorescence fluorimetric analysis for direct quantification of bacteria and its application in monitoring bacterial growth in cellulose degradation systems. J Microbiol Methods 2017; 135:85-92. [PMID: 28215962 DOI: 10.1016/j.mimet.2017.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2016] [Revised: 02/13/2017] [Accepted: 02/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Monitoring bacterial growth is an important technique required for many applications such as testing bacteria against compounds (e.g. drugs), evaluating bacterial composition in the environment (e.g. sewage and wastewater or food suspensions) and testing engineered bacteria for various functions (e.g. cellulose degradation). T?=1,^FigItem(1) ^ReloadFigure=Yesraditionally, rapid estimation of bacterial growth is performed using spectrophotometric measurement at 600nm (OD600) but this estimation does not differentiate live and dead cells or other debris. Colony counting enumerates live cells but the process is laborious and not suitable for large numbers of samples. Enumeration of live bacteria by flow cytometry is a more suitable rapid method with the use of dual staining with SYBR I Green nucleic acid gel stain and Propidium Iodide (SYBR-I/PI). Flow cytometry equipment and maintenance costs however are relatively high and this technique is unavailable in many laboratories that may require a rapid method for evaluating bacteria growth. We therefore sought to adapt and evaluate the SYBR-I/PI technique of enumerating live bacterial cells for a cheaper platform, a fluorimeter. The fluorimetry adapted SYBR-I/PI enumeration of bacteria in turbid growth media had direct correlations with OD600 (p>0.001). To enable comparison of fluorescence results across labs and instruments, a fluorescence intensity standard unit, the equivalent fluorescent DNA (EFD) was proposed, evaluated and found useful. The technique was further evaluated for its usefulness in enumerating bacteria in turbid media containing insoluble particles. Reproducible results were obtained which OD600 could not give. An alternative method based on the assessment of total protein using the Pierce Coomassie Plus (Bradford) Assay was also evaluated and compared. In all, the SYBR-I/PI method was found to be the quickest and most reliable. The protocol is potentially useful for high-throughput applications such as monitoring of growth of live bacterial cells in 96-well microplates and in assessing in vivo activity of cellulose degrading enzyme systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kwabena O Duedu
- Institute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, UK; Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Basic & Biomedical Sciences, University of Health & Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana.
| | - Christopher E French
- Institute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, UK.
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Scholes E, Verheyen V, Brook-Carter P. A review of practical tools for rapid monitoring of membrane bioreactors. WATER RESEARCH 2016; 102:252-262. [PMID: 27362445 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2016.06.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2016] [Revised: 05/17/2016] [Accepted: 06/13/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The production of high quality effluent from membrane bioreactors (MBRs) arguably requires less supervision than conventional activated sludge (CAS) processes. Nevertheless, the use of membranes brings additional issues of activated sludge filterability, cake layer formation and membrane fouling. From a practical standpoint, process engineers and operators require simple tools which offer timely information about the biological health and filterability of the mixed liquor as well as risks of membrane fouling. To this end, a range of analytical tools and biological assays are critically reviewed from this perspective. This review recommends that Capillary Suction Time (CST) analysis along with Total Suspended and Volatile Solids (TSS/VSS) analysis is used daily. For broad characterisation, total carbon and nitrogen analysis offer significant advantages over the commonly used chemical and biological oxygen demand (COD/BOD) analyses. Of the technologies for determining the vitality of the microbial biomass the most robust and reproducible, are the second generation adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) test kits. Extracellular polymer concentrations are best monitored by measurement of turbidity after centrifugation. Taken collectively these tools can be used routinely to ensure timely intervention and smoother operation of MBR systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Scholes
- Monash University, Faculty of Science, Victoria, Australia
| | - V Verheyen
- School of Applied and Biomedical Sciences, Federation University Australia, Northways Rd, Churchill, Victoria 3842, Australia.
| | - P Brook-Carter
- School of Applied and Biomedical Sciences, Federation University Australia, Northways Rd, Churchill, Victoria 3842, Australia
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Di Cesare A, Fontaneto D, Doppelbauer J, Corno G. Fitness and Recovery of Bacterial Communities and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Urban Wastewaters Exposed to Classical Disinfection Treatments. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2016; 50:10153-61. [PMID: 27548377 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b02268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are increasingly appreciated to be important as micropollutants. Indirectly produced by human activities, they are released into the environment, as they are untargeted by conventional wastewater treatments. In order to understand the fate of ARGs and of other resistant forms (e.g., phenotypical adaptations) in urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), we monitored three WWTPs with different disinfection processes (chlorine, peracetic acid (PAA), and ultraviolet light (UV)). We monitored WWTPs influx and pre- and postdisinfection effluent over 24 h, followed by incubation experiments lasting for 96 h. We measured bacterial abundance, size distribution and aggregational behavior, the proportion of intact (active) cells, and the abundances of four ARGs and of the mobile element integron1. While all the predisinfection treatments of all WWTPs removed the majority of bacteria and of associated ARGs, of the disinfection processes only PAA efficiently removed bacterial cells. However, the stress imposed by PAA selected for bacterial aggregates and, similarly to chlorine, stimulated the selection of ARGs during the incubation experiment. This suggests disinfections based on chemically aggressive destruction of bacterial cell structures can promote a residual microbial community that is more resistant to antibiotics and, given the altered aggregational behavior, to competitive stress in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Di Cesare
- Microbial Ecology Group, National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Ecosystem Study - Largo Tonolli 50, 28922 Verbania, Italy
| | - Diego Fontaneto
- Microbial Ecology Group, National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Ecosystem Study - Largo Tonolli 50, 28922 Verbania, Italy
| | - Julia Doppelbauer
- Microbial Ecology Group, National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Ecosystem Study - Largo Tonolli 50, 28922 Verbania, Italy
| | - Gianluca Corno
- Microbial Ecology Group, National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Ecosystem Study - Largo Tonolli 50, 28922 Verbania, Italy
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50
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Lin S, Wang X, Chao Y, He Y, Liu M. Predicting biofilm thickness and biofilm viability based on the concentration of carbon-nitrogen-phosphorus by support vector regression. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2016; 23:418-425. [PMID: 26308927 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-5276-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2015] [Accepted: 08/17/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Current tools to predict biofilm thickness and viability in spatial distribution are poor, especially those based on chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphate (TP) due to their limited data and complex calculations. Here, support vector regression (SVR) was used to predict biofilm thickness and viability in a reactor filled with carriers of crushed stone globular aggregates. Analyses combined confocal laser scanning microscopy and flow cytometry with Kriging interpolation revealed that biofilm thickness varied from 22 to 31 μm, and biofilm viability decreased from 80 to 30% in the flow direction of the reactor. The biofilm thickness at the bottom was thicker than that in the upper layer, but biofilm viability contrasted with biofilm thickness in the vertical distribution. The values of biofilm thickness and viability were predicted at a layer 35 cm from the bottom of the reactor with mean squared error values of 0.014 and 0.011, respectively. Correlation coefficients were 0.996 and 0.997 between carbon-nitrogen-phosphorus (C-N-P) removal with biofilm thickness and viability in spatial distribution, respectively. This study provided an important mathematical method to predict biofilm thickness and viability in spatial distribution based on the concentration of C-N-P.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shanshan Lin
- School of Environmental Sciences, Northeast Normal University, No. 2555, Jingyue Street, Changchun, 130117, Jilin, People's Republic of China
| | - Xinmin Wang
- School of Basic Science, Changchun University of Technology, No. 2055, Yan'an Street, Changchun, 130012, People's Republic of China
| | - Yunlong Chao
- School of Environmental Sciences, Northeast Normal University, No. 2555, Jingyue Street, Changchun, 130117, Jilin, People's Republic of China
| | - Yude He
- School of Basic Science, Changchun University of Technology, No. 2055, Yan'an Street, Changchun, 130012, People's Republic of China
| | - Ming Liu
- School of Basic Science, Changchun University of Technology, No. 2055, Yan'an Street, Changchun, 130012, People's Republic of China.
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