[Teaching practice of anaerobic digestion microorganisms in Microbiology for Environmental Engineering]

Anaerobic digestion is a process in which organic matter is converted into methane and carbon dioxide through the catalysis of bacteria and archaea under anaerobic conditions. It is of great significance for the natural material cycle and sustainable development. Currently, textbooks of Microbiology for Environmental Engineering provide little information on the functional microorganisms involved in anaerobic digestion. As a result, students have a limited understanding of the complexity and applications of anaerobic microorganisms. To address this issue, we carried out teaching reforms. In the classroom, the importance of anaerobic digestion was first introduced. Then, with the four stages of hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis, and methanogenesis as the basic framework, the types, characteristics, and functions of the key functional microorganisms in each stage were explained. A particular emphasis was placed on difficult points such as the syntrophic relationships among microorganisms. Finally, with the adoption of an application case integrating theory and practice, students' knowledge mastery was improved, and good teaching effects were obtained. This article introduces the teaching contents and implementation, aiming to provide references for the revision of textbooks and classroom teaching reforms in courses such as Microbiology for Environmental Engineering, Microbiology, and Biochemistry in higher education institutions.