Leachate microbiome profile reveals bacteria, archaea and eukaryote dynamics and methanogenic function during solid...

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Environmental Science
• Biogeochemistry

Background:

• Solid waste decomposition is a complex process driven by microbial communities.
• Understanding microbial dynamics is crucial for optimizing waste management and biogas production.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the community composition and dynamics of bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes in solid waste leachate during decomposition.
• To predict the functional genes of methanogenic pathways and analyze their succession.
• To determine the influence of environmental factors like pH and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) on microbial structure and function.

Main Methods:

• Illumina MiSeq sequencing was used to analyze microbial community composition.
• PICRUSt was employed to predict functional enzyme-encoding genes.
• Community structure was analyzed across aerobic (AP), anaerobic acid (ACP), and methanogenic (MP) phases.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in microbial phyla, genera, and species were observed between decomposition phases.
• Protist Ciliophora were prevalent in the methanogenic phase, indicating short food chain establishment.
• Microbial community structure was dependent on pH and BOD5.
• Acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis pathways were inhibited during the anaerobic acid phase.

Conclusions:

• Microbial community succession is a key feature of solid waste decomposition.
• Environmental factors significantly shape microbial communities and methanogenesis.
• The findings provide insights into microbial roles in waste stabilization and biogas generation.