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Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Determination of the Glycogen Content in Cyanobacteria
Published on: July 17, 2017
Reevaluating glycogen-accumulating organisms as ecological flexors: Mechanistic insights into glycogen-accumulating
Xin Zhu1, Mengmeng Qian1, Juan Li1
1School of Environment Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China.
Abstract:
This study challenges the view that glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs) solely hinder phosphorus removal in wastewater treatment. We investigated how GAOs influence phosphorus recovery in biofilm sequencing batch reactors (BSBRs) under varying carbon-to-phosphorus (C/P) ratios (20-40 mg-COD/mg-P) and dissolved oxygen (DO) levels (4-6 mg/L). By adjusting C/P and DO, we established systems with GAOs abundances ranging from 21.02 % to 2.49 % and polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) abundances from 8.21 % to 25.73 %. Surprisingly, high GAOs abundance (21.02 %) correlated with superior phosphorus recovery (> 80 mg/L) and >95 % removal efficiency, contradicting conventional EBPR models. Metagenomic analysis revealed GAOs enhanced glycogen degradation and PHA synthesis, supporting energy-intensive phosphorus accumulation. Reduced GAOs abundance impaired acetate uptake and PHB polymerization, lowering system performance. GAOs also maintained microbial diversity and stabilized functional gene expression. We conclude that GAOs play a beneficial metabolic role in biofilm systems by optimizing carbon use for phosphorus enrichment, enabling stable recovery even when GAOs outnumber PAOs.
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