Microbial Contributions to Phosphorus Cycling in Eutrophic Lakes and Wastewater

Phosphorus is a key element controlling the productivity of freshwater ecosystems, and microbes drive most of its relevant biogeochemistry. Eutrophic lakes are generally dominated by cyanobacteria that compete fiercely with algae and heterotrophs for the element. In wastewater treatment, engineers s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of microbiology 2013-01, Vol.67 (1), p.199-219
Main Authors: McMahon, Katherine D, Read, Emily K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accumulibacter
activated sludge
Algae
Aquatic ecosystems
Bacteria - metabolism
Biodiversity
Biogeochemistry
Biogeography
Candidatus
cyanobacteria
Dissolved organic phosphorus
Ecosystem
Ecosystem biology
Eutrophic lakes
Eutrophication
Freshwater
Freshwater ecosystems
Lakes
Lakes - chemistry
Lakes - microbiology
Metabolism
Mineralization
Phosphorus
Phosphorus - analysis
Phosphorus - metabolism
Surface water
Tetrasphaera
Waste Water - chemistry
Waste Water - microbiology
Wastewater treatment plants
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Summary:Phosphorus is a key element controlling the productivity of freshwater ecosystems, and microbes drive most of its relevant biogeochemistry. Eutrophic lakes are generally dominated by cyanobacteria that compete fiercely with algae and heterotrophs for the element. In wastewater treatment, engineers select for specialized bacteria capable of sequestering phosphorus from the water, to protect surface waters from further loading. The intracellular storage molecule polyphosphate plays an important role in both systems, allowing key taxa to control phosphorus availability. The importance of dissolved organic phosphorus in eutrophic lakes and mineralization mechanisms is still underappreciated and understudied. The need for functional redundancy through biological diversity in wastewater treatment plants is also clear. In both systems, a holistic ecosystems biology approach is needed to understand the molecular mechanisms controlling phosphorus metabolism and the ecological interactions and factors controlling ecosystem-level process rates.
ISSN:0066-4227
1545-3251
DOI:10.1146/annurev-micro-092412-155713