The core populations and co-occurrence patterns of prokaryotic communities in household biogas digesters

Household biogas digesters are widely used to harvest energy in rural areas of developing countries. Understanding core prokaryotic communities, their co-occurrence patterns, and their relationships to environmental factors is important to manage these small-scale anaerobic digestion systems effectively. In this study, 43 household biogas digesters were collected across eight provinces in China. Prokaryotic communities were investigated using 454 pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes.

Fourteen core genera and ten core OTUs were identified in household biogas digesters. They were mainly affiliated with the phylum Firmicutes, Synergistetes, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Spirochaetes. Core prokaryotic genera were mainly composed of Clostridium, Clostridium XI, Syntrophomonas, Cloacibacillus, Sedimentibacter, and Turicibacter. Prokaryotic communities in the 43 samples were clearly divided into two clusters. Cluster I was dominated by Clostridium, while Cluster II was dominated by members of Spirochaetes, Bacteroidales, Clostridia, and abundant syntrophs and methanogens. NH4 (+)-N and COD contributed significantly to the assembly of the prokaryotic community in Cluster I, while NH4 (+)-N, pH, and phosphate contributed significantly to Cluster II. Correlation-based network analysis showed that the prokaryotic communities in the biogas digesters were dominated by some functional modules. Cluster I was dominated by acetotrophic methanogenic modules and the Clostridium-driven primary fermentation module, while the network of Cluster II was dominated by hydrogenotrophic and acetogenic methanogenesis modules and multi-group-driven (Spirochaetes, Bacteroidales, and Clostridia) primary fermentation modules. The network of Cluster II was more complex and functionally redundant.

Prokaryotic communities identified in the household biogas digesters varied significantly and were affected by environmental factors, such as NH4 (+)-N, pH, and COD. However, core prokaryotic communities existed, and most of them were also dominant populations. Cosmopolitan OTUs tended to co-occur. Prokaryotic communities in biogas digesters were well organized by some functional modules. The modular structure of the prokaryotic community, which has functional redundancy, enhances the resistance against environmental stress and maintains digestion efficiency in the anaerobic digestion process.