title: Differentiation in the microbial ecology and activity of suspended and attached bacteria in a nitritation-anammox process.
abstract: A directed differentiation between the biofilm and suspension was observed in the molecular microbial ecology and gene expression of different bacteria in a biofilm nitritation-anammox process operated at varying hydraulic residence times (HRT) and nitrogen loading rates (NLR). The highest degree of enrichment observed in the biofilm was of anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AMX) followed by that of Nitrospira spp. related nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). For AMX, a major shift from Candidatus "Brocadia fulgida" to Candidatus "Kuenenia stuttgartiensis" in both suspension and biofilm was observed with progressively shorter HRT, using discriminatory biomarkers targeting the hydrazine synthase (hzsA) gene. In parallel, expression of the hydrazine oxidoreductase gene (hzo), a functional biomarker for AMX energy metabolism, became progressively prominent in the biofilm. A marginal but statistically significant enrichment in the biofilm was observed for Nitrosomonas europaea related ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). In direct contrast to AMX, the gene expression of ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (amoA), a functional biomarker for AOB energy metabolism, progressively increased in suspension. Using gene expression and biomass concentration measures in conjunction, it was determined that signatures of AOB metabolism were primarily present in the biofilm throughout the study. On the other hand, AMX metabolism gradually shifted from being uniformly distributed in both the biofilm and suspension to primarily the biofilm at shorter HRTs and higher NLRs. These results therefore highlight the complexity and key differences in the microbial ecology, gene expression and activity between the biofilm and suspension of a nitritation-anammox process and the biokinetic and metabolic drivers for such niche segregation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, 500 West 120th Street, New York, NY, 10027.
authors.forename: Hongkeun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Suneethi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sundar
authors.forename: Yiwei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Kartik
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chandran
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000378:metabolism*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018441:Biofilms; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D058465:Nitrification; D009573:Nitrites / Q000378:metabolism*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction
chemical_list: D009573:Nitrites; D000641:Ammonia; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: anammox; biofilm; gene expression; microbial ecology; nitrification; nitritation