Linkages of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes populations to methanogenic process performance

Abstract

To identify potential linkages between specific bacterial populations and process performance in anaerobic digestion, the dynamics of bacterial community structure was monitored with high-throughput sequencing in triplicate anaerobic digesters treating animal waste. Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were found as the two most abundant populations, however, with contrasting population dynamics in response to organic overloading. Firmicutes dominated the bacterial community during stable process performance at low organic loading rate, representing over 50 % of the bacterial abundance. In contrast, the onset of organic overloading raised the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes from 20 ± 2.6 to 44 ± 3.1 %. In addition to the significant negative correlation between the relative abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, populations of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were found to be linked to process parameters including organic loading rate, volatile fatty acids concentration, and methane production. Therefore, the population abundance ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes (F/B ratio) was suggested as a potential indicator for process performance. The interactions between Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes populations could be exploited to develop strategies for the prevention of performance perturbation in anaerobic digestion processes.

Bioreactor Scalability: Laboratory-Scale Bioreactor Design Influences Performance, Ecology, and Community Physiology in Expanded Granular Sludge Bed Bioreactors

“…In each case, the difference in abundance was both significant and marked in real terms. Both Firmicutes and Synergistetes are widely reported as relatively highly abundant in engineered anaerobic systems (Satoh et al, 2007; Rivière et al, 2009; Militon et al, 2015; Chen et al, 2016) and as such significant stratification observed here demonstrates the importance of spatial, as well as temporal, sampling of bioreactors at laboratory-scale when aiming to characterize microbial community composition in such systems.…”

Microbial population dynamics in temperature‐phased anaerobic digestion of municipal wastewater sludge

“…55 Likewise the phyla Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria possess high levels of metabolic diversity with respect to organic nutrient removal. 24,56 The members of Clostridium and Bacteriodetes participate in both hydrolysis and acidogenesis processes, decompose various substrates, such as starch, cellulose and protein to glucose and fatty acids respectively. 57 Members of Alpha-and Beta-Proteobacteria as well as Clostridia and Bacteriodia are well known glucose, propionate, butyrate, and acetate-utilizing.…”

“…Primarily this is because of a lack of suitable techniques used for their analysis. For instance, microbial communities from seven mesophilic digesters have been examined and members of the groups Chloroflexi, Beta‐Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteriodetes and Synergistetes were observed as core consortia . However, details of the bacterial populations within those phyla and their ecological roles in the digestion process are yet to be determined.…”

“…For instance, microbial communities from seven mesophilic digesters have been examined and members of the groups Chloroflexi, Beta-Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteriodetes and Synergistetes were observed as core consortia. 23,24 However, details of the bacterial populations within those phyla and their ecological roles in the digestion process are yet to be determined. Moreover, the composition of the associated bacterial/methanogenic archaeal community seems to be influenced by process parameters such as temperature, pH and SRT.…”

Effects of phycocyanin in modulating the intestinal microbiota of mice

“…Members of the family Rikenellaceae are hydrogen-producing bacteria that selectively neutralize cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) and protect cells from oxidative stress (Chen, Zuo, Hai, & Sun, 2011). It has been reported that endogenous hydrogen reduces oxidative stress and ameliorates the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (Si, Cheng, Wyckoff, & Qiang, 2016), which would benefit the host's health. Low-dose PC had a greater effect on the level of Rikenellaceae than the higher dose.…”