Shotgun
sequencing was used for the quantification of taxonomic
and functional biomarkers associated with chlorinated solvent bioremediation
in 20 groundwater samples (five sites), following bioaugmentation
with SDC-9. The analysis determined the abundance of (1) genera associated
with chlorinated solvent degradation, (2) reductive dehalogenase (RDases)
genes, (3) genes associated with 1,4-dioxane removal, (4) genes associated
with aerobic chlorinated solvent degradation, and (5) D. mccartyi genes associated with hydrogen and corrinoid metabolism. The taxonomic
analysis revealed numerous genera previously linked to chlorinated
solvent degradation, including Dehalococcoides, Desulfitobacterium, and Dehalogenimonas. The functional gene analysis indicated vcrA and tceA from D. mccartyi were the RDases with
the highest relative abundance. Reads aligning with both aerobic and
anaerobic biomarkers were observed across all sites. Aerobic solvent
degradation genes, etnC or etnE,
were detected in at least one sample from each site, as were pmoA and mmoX. The most abundant 1,4-dioxane
biomarker detected was Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b mmoX. Reads aligning to thmA or Pseudonocardia were not found. The work illustrates the importance of shotgun sequencing
to provide a more complete picture of the functional abilities of
microbial communities. The approach is advantageous over current methods
because an unlimited number of functional genes can be quantified.
Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) is known for high phosphorus removal from wastewaters, and phosphorus can be recovered from high phosphorus-containing waste sludge granules. This study aimed at determining the feeding strategy that provides the best performance in terms of the proliferation of polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) and phosphorus removal. Using three AGS bioreactors, this study compared phosphorus removal and the proliferation dynamics of PAOs under three different feeding strategies: anaerobic slow feeding (R1), pulse feeding + anaerobic mixing (R2), and pulse feeding (R3). Results indicate that R1 and R2 achieved significantly higher phosphorus removal (97.6 ± 3% for R1 and 98.3 ± 1% for R2) than R3 (55 ± 11%). The anaerobic slow feeding procedure (R1) achieved the highest specific phosphorus release rate (SPRR) and specific phosphorus uptake rate (SPUR) as compared to the other two feeding conditions. 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene sequencing assay of the microbial community for the three feeding strategies indicated that although the feeding strategy impacted reactor performance, it did not significantly alter the microbial community. The bacteria community composition maintained a similar degree of diversity. Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Verrucomicrobia were the dominant bacterial phyla in the system. Dominant PAOs were from the class Betaproteobacteria and the genera Paracoccus and Thauera. Glycogen-accumulating organisms were significantly inhibited while other less-known bacteria such as Wandonia and Hyphomonas were observed in all three reactors.
Zero-valent iron (ZVI) was immobilized onto surfactant-modified zeolites (SMZ) using calcium alginate. Scanning electron microscopy showed that ZVI powder was uniformly immobilized on the surface of the SMZ. The added ZVI powder resulted in enhanced dichromate removal efficiency and the heterogeneous surface of the composite. The adsorption of dichromate onto the ZVI-SMZ composites fitted well to a pseudo-second-order model and the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The maximum dichromate adsorption capacity of the composite was 2.49 mg/g at the temperature of 293 K. Higher removal efficiency was obtained at pH lower than 7. X-ray photoelectron spectrometry revealed that the composites combined the strong reductive quality of ZVI and superior adsorption of SMZ.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.