title: Global Profiling of Metabolite and Lipid Soluble Microbial Products in Anaerobic Wastewater Reactor Supernatant Using UPLC-MSE.
abstract: Identification of soluble microbial products (SMPs) released during bacterial metabolism in mixed cultures in bioreactors is essential to understanding fundamental mechanisms of their biological production. SMPs constitute one of the main foulants (together with colloids and bacterial flocs) in membrane bioreactors widely used to treat and ultimately recycle wastewater. More importantly, the composition and origin of potentially toxic, carcinogenic, or mutagenic SMPs in renewable/reused water supplies must be determined and controlled. Certain classes of SMPs have previously been studied by GC-MS, LC-MS, and MALDI-ToF MS; however, a more comprehensive LC-MS-based method for SMP identification is currently lacking. Here we develop a UPLC-MS approach to profile and identify metabolite SMPs in the supernatant of an anaerobic batch bioreactor. The small biomolecules were extracted into two fractions based on their polarity, and separate methods were then used for the polar and nonpolar metabolites in the aqueous and lipid fractions, respectively. SMPs that increased in the supernatant after feed addition were identified primarily as phospholipids, ceramides, with cardiolipins in the highest relative abundance, and these lipids have not been previously reported in wastewater effluent.
authors.affiliation: Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University , Singapore 636921.
authors.forename: Phornpimon
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4691-7063
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tipthara
authors.affiliation: Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre, Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University , Singapore 637141.
authors.forename: Chinagarn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kunacheva
authors.affiliation: Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre, Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University , Singapore 637141.
authors.forename: Yan Ni Annie
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Soh
authors.affiliation: Waters Pacific Pte. Ltd. , Singapore Science Park 2, Singapore 117528.
authors.forename: Stephen C C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University , Singapore 636921.
authors.forename: Ng Sean
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Pin
authors.affiliation: Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre, Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University , Singapore 637141.|Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London , London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Stuckey
authors.affiliation: Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University , Singapore 636921.
authors.forename: Bernhard O
authors.initials: BO
authors.lastname: Boehm
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis / Q000502:physiology; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D019149:Bioreactors; D002308:Cardiolipins / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002518:Ceramides / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005285:Fermentation; D006801:Humans; D055442:Metabolome; D059013:Microbial Consortia / Q000502:physiology; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods; D062065:Wastewater / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D002308:Cardiolipins; D002518:Ceramides; D010743:Phospholipids; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: MS/MS; Q-ToF; anaerobic bioreactors; metabolite profiling; soluble microbial products; wastewater