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Significant performance enhancement of a UASB reactor by using acyl homoserine lactones to facilitate the long filaments of Methanosaeta harundinacea 6Ac

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

Methanosaeta strains are frequently involved in the granule formation during methanogenic wastewater treatment. To investigate the impact of Methanosaeta on granulation and performance of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors, three 1-L working volume reactors noted as R1, R2, and R3 were operated fed with a synthetic wastewater containing sodium acetate and glucose. R1 was inoculated with 1-L activated sludge, while R2 and R3 were inoculated with 200-mL concentrated pre-grown Methanosaeta harundinacea 6Ac culture and 800 mL of activated sludge. Additionally, R3 was daily dosed with 0.5 mL/L of acetyl ether extract of 6Ac spent culture containing its quorum sensing signal carboxyl acyl homoserine lactone (AHL). Compared to R1, R2 and R3 had a higher and more constant chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency and alkaline pH (8.2) during the granulation phase, particularly, R3 maintained approximately 90 % COD removal. Moreover, R3 formed the best granules, and microscopic images showed fluorescent Methanosaeta-like filaments dominating in the R3 granules, but rod cells dominating in the R2 granules. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene libraries showed increased diversity of methanogen species like Methanosarcina and Methanospirillum in R2 and R3, and increased bacteria diversity in R3 that included the syntrophic propionate degrader Syntrophobacter. Quantitative PCR determined that 6Ac made up more than 22 % of the total prokaryotes in R3, but only 3.6 % in R2. The carboxyl AHL was detected in R3. This work indicates that AHL-facilitated filaments of Methanosaeta contribute to the granulation and performance of UASB reactors, likely through immobilizing other functional microorganisms.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China under numbers 31100035 and 30621005.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No 1 West Beichen Road, Beijing, 100101, People’s Republic of China

      Lingyan Li, Guomin Ai, Xiaoli Liu, Jie Li & Xiuzhu Dong

    2. State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China

      Mingyue Zheng, Hailing Ma, Shufen Gong & Kaijun Wang

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    1. Lingyan Li
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    2. Mingyue Zheng
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    6. Xiaoli Liu
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    7. Jie Li
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    Correspondence to Kaijun Wang or Xiuzhu Dong.

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    Lingyan Li and Mingyue Zheng contributed equally to this work.

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    Li, L., Zheng, M., Ma, H. et al. Significant performance enhancement of a UASB reactor by using acyl homoserine lactones to facilitate the long filaments of Methanosaeta harundinacea 6Ac. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 99, 6471–6480 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-015-6478-4

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