Low-temperature anaerobic digestion is associated with differential methanogenic protein expression
Abstract
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is an attractive wastewater treatment technology, leading to the generation of recoverable biofuel (methane). Most industrial AD applications, carry excessive heating costs however, as AD reactors are commonly operated at mesophilic temperatures while handling waste streams discharged at ambient or cold temperatures. Consequently, low-temperature AD represents a cost effective strategy for wastewater treatment. The comparative investigation of key microbial groups underpinning laboratory-scale AD bioreactors operated at 37°C, 15°C and 7°C was carried out. Community structure was monitored using 16S rRNA clone libraries, while abundance of the most prominent methanogens was investigated using qPCR. In addition, metaproteomics was employed to access the microbial functions carried out in situ. While δ-Proteobacteria were prevalent at 37°C, their abundance decreased dramatically at lower temperatures with inverse trends observed for Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. Methanobacteriales and Methanosaeta were predominant at all temperatures investigated while Methanomicrobiales abundance increased at 15°C compared to 37°C and 7°C. Changes in operating temperature resulted in the differential expression of proteins involved in methanogenesis, which was found to occur in all bioreactors, as corroborated by bioreactors’ performance. This study demonstrated the value of employing a polyphasic approach to address microbial community dynamics and highlighted the functional redundancy of AD microbiomes.
Citation
Gunnigle , E , Siggins , A , Botting , C H , Fuszard , M A & Abram , F 2015 , ' Low-temperature anaerobic digestion is associated with differential methanogenic protein expression ' , FEMS Microbiology Letters , vol. 362 , no. 10 , fnv059 . https://doi.org/10.1093/femsle/fnv059
Publication
FEMS Microbiology Letters
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0378-1097Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in FEMS Microbiology Letters following peer review. The version of record, Low-temperature anaerobic digestion is associated with differential methanogenic protein expression Gunnigle, E., Siggins, A., Botting, C. H., Fuszard, M. A. & Abram, F. 2015 In : FEMS Microbiology Letters, 362, 10 is available online at: http://femsle.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/04/09/femsle.fnv059
Description
This research was financially supported by Science Foundation Ireland (Grants RFP 276 08/RFP/EOB1343 and 06/CP/E006). The Welcome Trust, (grant number GR06281AIA), which funded the purchase of the ABSciex QStar XL mass spectrometer at the University of St. Andrews, is also gratefully acknowledged.Collections
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