Looking for phosphate-accumulating bacteria in activated sludge processes: a multidisciplinary approach

Abstract

Over the past decades, an increasing need in renewable resources has progressively appeared. This trend concerns not only fossil fuels but also mineral resources. Wastewater and sewage sludge contain significant concentrations in phosphate and can be considered as a fertilizer source of the utmost importance. In wastewater treatment plants, the biological uptake of phosphate is performed by a specific microbiota: the phosphate-accumulating organisms. These microorganisms are recovered in sewage sludge. Here, we aimed to investigate the occurrence of phosphate accumulators in four wastewater treatment plants. A 16S metagenetic analysis identified the main bacterial phyla extracted from the aerobic treatment: α-Proteobacteria, β-Proteobacteria, and Sphingobacteria. An enrichment stage was performed to stimulate the specific growth of phosphate-accumulating bacteria in an acetate medium. An analysis of metabolic activities of sulfur and phosphorus highlighted strong modifications related to phosphorus and much less distinguishable effects with sulfur. A solid acetate medium containing 5-Br-4-Cl-3-indolyl phosphate was used to select potential phosphate-accumulating bacteria from the enriched consortia. The positive strains have been found to belong in the genera Acinetobacter, Corynebacterium, and Pseudomonas. Finally, electron microscopy was applied to the strains and allowed to confirm the presence of polyphosphate granules. Some of these bacteria contained granules the size of which exceeded 100 nm.

Size Modulation of Zirconium-Based Metal Organic Frameworks for Highly Efficient Phosphate Remediation

“…In order to satisfy the increasingly stringent environmental regulations and mitigate the occurrence of eutrophication, various physicochemical technologies, including precipitation method, biological remediation, membranes, ion exchange, and coagulation, have been developed for efficient sequestrating of phosphate from polluted waters. − However, the established treatment methods usually suffer from some unavoidable limitations, such as slow kinetics, insufficient capture capacity, and poor specificity as well as the production of large amount of solid sludge, which needs the subsequent dispose and thus causes secondary environmental risks. Moreover, it is technically difficult for these water treatment technologies mentioned above to reduce phosphates below the acceptable level (0.5–1.0 ppm) recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).…”

Phosphate Starvation Responses in Plants and Microbe Mediated Phosphorus Recycling in Soil: A Review

“…Although the pure culture of Accumulibacter are still not available, but they are frequently enriched in EBPR systems and typically represent 5-20% of bacterial community (He et al, 2008;Nielsen et al, 2010). Tarayre et al, 2017 reported the presence of bacteria belonging to phyla α-Proteobacteria, β-Proteobacteria, and Sphingobacteria in EBPR. Several other bacterial; strains belonging to genera Acinetobacter, Corynebacterium, and Pseudomonas have been reported with the presence of polyphosphate granules of size nearly 100 nm as evident through electron microscopy (Tarayre et al, 2017).…”

“…Tarayre et al, 2017 reported the presence of bacteria belonging to phyla α-Proteobacteria, β-Proteobacteria, and Sphingobacteria in EBPR. Several other bacterial; strains belonging to genera Acinetobacter, Corynebacterium, and Pseudomonas have been reported with the presence of polyphosphate granules of size nearly 100 nm as evident through electron microscopy (Tarayre et al, 2017). Staphylococcus aureus can store upto 93 mM phosphates in their storage granules; it has been recorded to remove upto 81% of phosphate from the polyphosphate accumulating medium.…”

Phosphate removal and recovery by lanthanum-based adsorbents: A review for current advances

“…Currently, phosphate removal methods include precipitation, biological treatment, crystallization, membrane technology and adsorption methods (Huang et al, 2017;Tarayre et al, 2017). However, other methods have more limitations than the adsorption method.…”