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Community successional patterns and inter-kingdom interactions during granular biofilm development
Miguel de Celis1,2, Oskar Modin3, Lucía Arregui4
1Department of Genetics, Physiology and Microbiology, Microbiology Unit, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain. migueldc@ica.csic.es.
NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes
|October 19, 2024
Summary
Aerobic granular sludge wastewater treatment relies on microbial communities. This study reveals distinct prokaryotic and eukaryotic community stages during granule formation, highlighting the roles of deterministic and stochastic factors in their development.
Area of Science:
- Environmental microbiology
- Wastewater treatment technologies
- Biofilm processes
Background:
- Aerobic granular sludge is an efficient wastewater treatment method.
- Understanding microbial community dynamics during granule formation is crucial.
- Inter-kingdom interactions within granules remain poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To monitor prokaryotic and eukaryotic community changes during sludge granulation in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR).
- To investigate the influence of abiotic and biotic factors on granule development.
- To elucidate the ecological implications of microbial associations in aerobic granules.
Main Methods:
- Long-term monitoring (343 days) of microbial community composition and structure in an SBR.
- Analysis of sludge granulation stages: floccular, intermediate, and granular.
- Assessment of deterministic (reactor conditions) and stochastic (settlement sites, drift) factors.
Main Results:
- Sludge granulation occurred with low-wash-out dynamics and long settling times.
- Eukaryotic and prokaryotic communities exhibited parallel successional dynamics with three distinct sub-communities per kingdom.
- Inter-kingdom interactions influenced succession, with random factors gaining importance during granule development.
Conclusions:
- Sludge granulation involves distinct microbial community successions influenced by both deterministic and stochastic factors.
- Prokaryotic communities are primarily shaped by reactor conditions, while eukaryotic communities are influenced by biotic interactions and stochasticity.
- Further research into inter-kingdom interactions is needed for optimizing aerobic granular sludge processes.
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