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SMP production by activated sludge in the presence of a metabolic uncoupler, 3,3′,4′,5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide (TCS)

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

3,3′,4′,5-Tetrachlorosalicylanilide (TCS) is an effective metabolic uncoupler utilized for microbial yield reduction. However, its potential impact, in particular on the soluble microbial products (SMP) formation, is unknown yet. Herein we study the effect of TCS on SMP production and analyze the related mechanism. The addition of TCS in activated sludge system led to an increased production of SMP, especially proteins. The SMP were produced in proportion to the substrate utilization at a low TCS concentration, while more non-substrate-associated SMP were released at a high TCS concentration. TCS simulated the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and enhanced cell lysis, which both contributed to SMP production. FTIR and EEM analyses show that the SMP, EPS, and cell lysis products have similar functional groups and fluorescence properties, indicating a similar origin of these substances. In addition, a dose of TCS increased the release of high molecular weight compounds due to cell lysis. This study might benefit for a better understanding of the response of activated sludge to metabolic uncouplers like TCS.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the support from NSFC (51178215 and 50825802), Jiansu Provincial Natural Science Foundation (BK2011032), and Research Innovation Program for College Graduates of Jiangsu Province (CXZZ11_0051), China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210046, China

    Yan Li, Ai-Min Li, Bing Liu & Li-Chun Fu

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China

    Juan Xu, Wen-Wei Li & Han-Qing Yu

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  1. Yan Li
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  2. Ai-Min Li
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  3. Juan Xu
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  4. Bing Liu
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  5. Li-Chun Fu
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  6. Wen-Wei Li
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  7. Han-Qing Yu
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Correspondence to Ai-Min Li.

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Li, Y., Li, AM., Xu, J. et al. SMP production by activated sludge in the presence of a metabolic uncoupler, 3,3′,4′,5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide (TCS). Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 95, 1313–1321 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-011-3765-6

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