Comparable Nutrient Uptake across Diel Cycles by Three Distinct Phototrophic Communities

The capacity of microalgae to advance the limit of technology of nutrient recovery and accumulate storage carbon make them promising candidates for wastewater treatment. However, the extent to which these capabilities are influenced by microbial community composition remains poorly understood. To ad...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2019-01, Vol.53 (1), p.390-400
Main Authors: Fedders, Anna C, DeBellis, Jennifer L, Bradley, Ian M, Sevillano-Rivera, Maria C, Pinto, Ameet J, Guest, Jeremy S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Batch reactors
Carbohydrates
Carbon
Carbon sequestration
Chemical reactions
Communities
Community composition
Community structure
Culture media
Gene sequencing
Lipids
Microorganisms
Motivation
Nutrient cycles
Nutrient uptake
Nutrients
Photosynthesis
Polyamines
Reaction kinetics
Reactors
Recovery
rRNA 16S
rRNA 18S
Sequencing batch reactor
Storage capacity
Waste management
Wastewater management
Wastewater treatment
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Summary:The capacity of microalgae to advance the limit of technology of nutrient recovery and accumulate storage carbon make them promising candidates for wastewater treatment. However, the extent to which these capabilities are influenced by microbial community composition remains poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, 3 mixed phototrophic communities sourced from distinct latitudes within the continental United States (28° N, Tampa, FL; 36° N, Durham, NC; and 40° N, Urbana, IL) were operated in sequencing batch reactors (8 day solids residence time, SRT) subjected to identical diel light cycles with media addition at the start of the nighttime period. Despite persistent differences in community structure as determined via 18S rRNA (V4 and V8–V9 hypervariable regions) and 16S rRNA (V1–V3) gene amplicon sequencing, reactors achieved similar and stable nutrient recovery after 2 months (8 SRTs) of operation. Intrinsic carbohydrate and lipid storage capacity and maximum specific carbon storage rates differed significantly across communities despite consistent levels of observed carbon storage across reactors. This work supports the assertion that distinct algal communities cultivated under a common selective environment can achieve consistent performance while maintaining independent community structures and intrinsic carbon storage capabilities, providing further motivation for the development of engineered phototrophic processes for wastewater management.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.8b05874