[Comparative Metagenomics of BIOLAK and A2O Activated Sludge Based on Next-generation Sequencing Technology]

This is the first report of comparative metagenomic analyses of BIOLAK sludge and anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A2O) sludge. In the BIOLAK and A2O sludge metagenomes, 47 and 51 phyla were identified respectively, more than the numbers of phyla identified in Australia EBPR (enhanced biological phosphorus removal), USA EBPR and Bibby sludge. All phyla found in the BIOLAK sludge were detected in the A2O sludge, but four phyla were exclusively found in the A20 sludge. The proportion of the phylum Ignavibacteriae in the A2O sludge was 2.0440%, which was 3.2 times as much as that in the BIOLAK sludge (0.6376%). Meanwhile, the proportion of the bacterial phylum Gemmatimonadetes in the BIOLAK sludge was 2.4673%, which was >17 times as much as that in the A2O sludge (0.1404%). The proportion of the bacterial phylum Chlamydiae in the BIOLAK metagenome (0.2192%) was >6 times higher than that in the A2O (0.0360%). Furthermore, 167 genera found in the A20 sludge were not detected in the BIOLAK sludge. And 50 genera found in the BIOLAK sludge were not detected in the A20 sludge. From the analyses of both the phylum and genus levels, there were huge differences between the two biological communities of A2O and BIOLAK sludge. However, the proportions of each group of functional genes associated with metabolism of nitrogen, phosphor, sulfur and aromatic compounds in BIOLAK were very similar to those in A2O sludge. Moreover, the rankings of all six KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia for Genes and Genomes) categories were identical in the two sludges. In addition, the analyses of functional classification and pathway related nitrogen metabolism showed that the abundant enzymes had identical ranking in the BIOLAK and A2O metagenomes. Therefore, comparative metagenomics of BIOLAK and A2O activated sludge indicated similar function assignments from the two different biological communities.