The operation of wastewater treatment plants results in direct emissions, from the biological processes, of greenhouse gases (GHG) such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), as well as indirect emissions resulting from energy generation. In this study, three possible ways to reduce these emissions are discussed and analyzed:(1)minimization through the change of operational conditions,(2)treatment of the gaseous streams, and(3)prevention by applying new configurations and processes to remove both organic matter and pollutants. In current WWTPs, to modify the operational conditions of existing units reveals itself as possibly the most economical way to decrease N2O and CO2emissions without deterioration of effluent quality. Nowadays the treatment of the gaseous streams containing the GHG seems to be a not suitable option due to the high capital costs of systems involved to capture and clean them. The change of WWTP configuration by using microalgae or partial nitritation-Anammox processes to remove ammonia from wastewater, instead of conventional nitrification-denitrification processes, can significantly reduce the GHG emissions and the energy consumed. However, the area required in the case of microalgae systems and the current lack of information about stability of partial nitritation-Anammox processes operating in the main stream of the WWTP are factors to be considered.
Copper has a dual role for organisms, both as micronutrient and toxic element. Copper mining activities have an enormous ecological impact because of the extraction process and the consequent release of copper-containing waste materials to the environment. In northern Chile, mainly in the Chañaral coastal area, this phenomenon is clearly evident. The released waste material has caused a strong modification of the area, and copper enrichment of beaches and rocky shores has provoked a decrease in the richness and diversity of many species of macroorganisms. However, the effects that copper enrichment has on microbial (e.g. bacterial epilithic) communities associated with the rocky shore environment are poorly understood. Using a culture-independent molecular approach, field sampling and laboratory microcosm experiments, we determined the effects of copper enrichment on bacterial communities inhabiting the rocky shore environment. Field samples showed a strong effect of copper on the structure of the natural bacterial epilithic communities, and microcosm experiments demonstrated rapid changes in bacterial community when copper is added, and reversibility of this effect within 48 h after copper is removed.
Aims: In the last decades, the worldwide increase in copper wastes release by industrial activities like mining has driven environmental metal contents to toxic levels. For this reason, the study of the biological copper‐resistance mechanisms in natural environments is important. Therefore, an appropriate molecular tool for the detection and tracking of copper‐resistance genes was developed.
Methods and Results: In this work, we designed a PCR primer pair to specifically detect copper P‐type ATPases gene sequences. These PCR primers were tested in bacterial isolates and metagenomic DNA from intertidal marine environments impacted by copper pollution. As well, T‐RFLP fingerprinting of these gene sequences was used to compare the genetic composition of such genes in microbial communities, in normal and copper‐polluted coastal environments. New copper P‐type ATPases gene sequences were found, and a high degree of change in the genetic composition because of copper exposure was also determined.
Conclusions: This PCR based method is useful to track bacterial copper‐resistance gene sequences in the environment.
Significance and Impact of the Study: This study is the first to report the design and use of a PCR primer pair as a molecular marker to track bacterial copper‐resistance determinants, providing an excellent tool for long‐term analysis of environmental communities exposed to metal pollution.
Here, we report the complete genome sequence of Pseudomonas chilensis strain ABC1, which was isolated from a soil interstitial water sample collected at the University Adolfo Ibañez, Valparaiso, Chile. We assembled PacBio reads into a single closed contig with 209× mean coverage, yielding a 4,035,896-bp sequence with 62% GC content and 3,555 predicted genes.
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