Impact of different sulfur sources on the structure and function of sulfur autotrophic denitrification bacteria

• Published in: Scientific reports 2023-11, Vol.13 (1), p.19404-19404, Article 19404
• Main Authors: Chen, Zhenguo, Lou, Minlan, Fang, Peizhen, Xiao, Dunquan, Zhu, Wenting, Chen, Hongwei, Qian, Wei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/326/171/1878; 631/61/168; Community structure; Denitrification; Environmental perception; Humanities and Social Sciences; Metagenomics; Microbial activity; Microbiomes; multidisciplinary; Nitrate reduction; Nitrates; Nitrogen removal; Nutrient removal; Operating costs; Physicochemical analysis; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sodium thiosulfate; Species diversity; Structure-function relationships; Sulfur; Sulfur sources; Surface water; Water pollution
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46829-y

Nitrate pollution in surface water has become a significant environmental concern. Sulfur autotrophic denitrification (SAD) technology is gaining attention for its cost-effectiveness and efficiency in nitrate removal. This study aimed to investigate the structure and function of sulfur autotrophic denitrification microbial communities in systems using sodium thiosulfate (Group A) and elemental sulfur (Group B) as the sole electron donors. Metagenomic amplicon sequencing and physicochemical analysis were performed to examine the microbial communities. The results revealed that on day 13, the nitrate nitrogen removal rate in Group A was significantly higher (89.2%) compared to Group B (74.4%). The dominant genus in both Groups was Thiobacillus , with average abundances of 34.15% and 16.34% in Groups A and B, respectively. β-diversity analysis based on species level showed significant differences in bacterial community structure between the two Groups (P