title: Integrative microbial community analysis reveals full-scale enhanced biological phosphorus removal under tropical conditions.
abstract: Management of phosphorus discharge from human waste is essential for the control of eutrophication in surface waters. Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) is a sustainable, efficient way of removing phosphorus from waste water without employing chemical precipitation, but is assumed unachievable in tropical temperatures due to conditions that favour glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs) over polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs). Here, we show these assumptions are unfounded by studying comparative community dynamics in a full-scale plant following systematic perturbation of operational conditions, which modified community abundance, function and physicochemical state. A statistically significant increase in the relative abundance of the PAO Accumulibacter was associated with improved EBPR activity. GAO relative abundance also increased, challenging the assumption of competition. An Accumulibacter bin-genome was identified from a whole community metagenomic survey, and comparative analysis against extant Accumulibacter genomes suggests a close relationship to Type II. Analysis of the associated metatranscriptome data revealed that genes encoding proteins involved in the tricarboxylic acid cycle and glycolysis pathways were highly expressed, consistent with metabolic modelling results. Our findings show that tropical EBPR is indeed possible, highlight the translational potential of studying competition dynamics in full-scale waste water communities and carry implications for plant design in tropical regions.
authors.affiliation: Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore.
authors.forename: Yingyu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Law
authors.affiliation: Centre for Microbial Communities, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Rasmus Hansen
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Kirkegaard
authors.affiliation: Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore.
authors.forename: Angel Anisa
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Cokro
authors.affiliation: Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore.
authors.forename: Xianghui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore.
authors.forename: Krithika
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Arumugam
authors.affiliation: Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077, Singapore.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Centre for Microbial Communities, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Mikkel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stokholm-Bjerregaard
authors.affiliation: Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore.
authors.forename: Daniela I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Drautz-Moses
authors.affiliation: Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore.|Centre for Microbial Communities, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Per Halkjær
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.affiliation: Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore.|Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.|School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wuertz
authors.affiliation: Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077, Singapore.
authors.forename: Rohan B H
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology; D006003:Glycogen / Q000378:metabolism; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D054892:Metagenome / Q000235:genetics; D059013:Microbial Consortia / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology; D013696:Temperature; D014329:Tropical Climate; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods; D062065:Wastewater / Q000382:microbiology; D014871:Water Microbiology; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D006003:Glycogen; D010758:Phosphorus; D012722:Sewage; D062065:Wastewater