Dynamic and distribution of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria communities during sludge granulation in an anaerobic e aerobic sequencing batch reactor
Zhang Bin a ,b ,Chen Zhe a ,b ,Qiu Zhigang a ,b ,Jin Min a ,b ,Chen Zhiqiang a ,b ,Chen Zhaoli a ,b ,Li Junwen a ,b ,Wang Xuan c ,*,Wang Jingfeng a ,b ,**
a
Institute of Hygiene and Environmental Medicine,Academy of Military Medical Sciences,Tianjin 300050,PR China b
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment and Food Safety,Tianjin 300050,PR China c
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Hollow Fiber Membrane Material and Membrane Process,Institute of Biological and Chemical Engineering,Tianjin Polytechnical University,Tianjin 300160,PR China
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 30June 2011Received in revised form 10September 2011
Accepted 10September 2011Available online xxx Keywords:
Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria Granular sludge
Community development Granule size
Nitrifying bacteria distribution Phylogenetic diversity
a b s t r a c t
The structure dynamic of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB)community and the distribution of AOB and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB)in granular sludge from an anaerobic e aerobic sequencing batch reactor (SBR)were investigated.A combination of process studies,molecular biotechniques and microscale techniques were employed to identify and characterize these organisms.The AOB community structure in granules was substantially different from that of the initial pattern of the inoculants sludge.Along with granules formation,the AOB diversity declined due to the selection pressure imposed by process conditions.Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE)and sequencing results demonstrated that most of Nitrosomonas in the inoculating sludge were remained b
reactor 翻译ecause of their ability to rapidly adapt to the settling e washing out action.Furthermore,DGGE analysis revealed that larger granules benefit more AOB species surviving in the reactor.In the SBR were various size granules coexisted,granule diameter affected the distribution range of AOB and NOB.Small and medium granules (d <0.6mm)cannot restrict oxygen mass transfer in all spaces of the sludge.Larger granules (d >0.9mm)can result in smaller aerobic volume fraction and inhibition of NOB growth.All these observations provide support to future studies on the mechanisms responsible for the AOB in granules systems.
ª2011Elsevier Ltd.All rights reserved.
1.Introduction
At sufficiently high levels,ammonia in aquatic environments can be toxic to aquatic life and can contribute to eutrophica-tion.Accordingly,biodegradation and elimination of ammonia in wastewater are the primary functions of the
wastewater treatment process.Nitrification,the conversion of ammonia to nitrate via nitrite,is an important way to remove ammonia nitrogen.It is a two-step process catalyzed by ammonia-oxidizing and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (AOB and NOB).Aerobic ammonia-oxidation is often the first,rate-limiting
step of nitrification;however,it is essential for the
*Corresponding author .
**Corresponding author.Institute of Hygiene and Environmental Medicine,Academy of Military Medical Sciences,Tianjin 300050,PR China.Tel.:+862284655498;fax:+862223328809.
E-mail addresses:wangxuan0116@163 (W.Xuan),jingfengwang@hotmail (W.
Jingfeng).Available online at
www.sciencedirect
journal homepage:www.elsevier/locate/watres
w a t e r r e s e a r c h x x x (2011)1e 10
0043-1354/$e see front matter ª2011Elsevier Ltd.All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.watres.2011.09.026
removal of ammonia from the wastewater(Prosser and Nicol, 2008).Comparative analyses of16S rRNA sequences have revealed that most AOB in activated sludge are phylogeneti-cally closely related to th
e clade of b-Proteobacteria (Kowalchuk and Stephen,2001).However,a number of studies have suggested that there are physiological and ecological differences between different AOB genera and lineages,and that environmental factors such as process parameter,dis-solved oxygen,salinity,pH,and concentrations of free ammonia can impact certain species of AOB(Erguder et al., 2008;Kim et al.,2006;Koops and Pommerening-Ro¨ser,2001; Kowalchuk and Stephen,2001;Shi et al.,2010).Therefore, the physiological activity and abundance of AOB in waste-water processing is critical in the design and operation of waste treatment systems.For this reason,a better under-standing of the ecology and microbiology of AOB in waste-water treatment systems is necessary to enhance treatment performance.Recently,several developed techniques have served as valuable tools for the characterization of microbial diversity in biological wastewater treatment systems(Li et al., 2008;Yin and Xu,2009).Currently,the application of molec-ular biotechniques can provide clarification of the ammonia-oxidizing community in detail(Haseborg et al.,2010;Tawan et al.,2005;Vlaeminck et al.,2010).
In recent years,the aerobic granular sludge process has become an attractive alternative to conventional processes for wastewater treatment mainly due to its cell immobilization strategy(de Bruin et al.,2004;Liu et al.,2009;Schwarzenbeck et al.,2005;Schwarzenbeck et al.,2004a,b;Xavier et al.,2007). Granules have a more tightly compact structure(Li et al.,2008; Liu and Tay,2008;Wang et al.,
2004)and rapid settling velocity (Kong et al.,2009;Lemaire et al.,2008).Therefore,granular sludge systems have a higher mixed liquid suspended sludge (MLSS)concentration and longer solid retention times(SRT) than conventional activated sludge systems.Longer SRT can provide enough time for the growth of organisms that require a long generation ,AOB).Some studies have indicated that nitrifying granules can be cultivated with ammonia-rich inorganic wastewater and the diameter of granules was small (Shi et al.,2010;Tsuneda et al.,2003).Other researchers reported that larger granules have been developed with the synthetic organic wastewater in sequencing batch reactors(SBRs)(Li et al., 2008;Liu and Tay,2008).The diverse populations of microor-ganisms that coexist in granules remove the chemical oxygen demand(COD),nitrogen and phosphate(de Kreuk et al.,2005). However,for larger granules with a particle diameter greater than0.6mm,an outer aerobic shell and an inner anaerobic zone coexist because of restricted oxygen diffusion to the granule core.These properties of granular sludge suggest that the inner environment of granules is unfavorable to AOB growth.Some research has shown that particle size and density induced the different distribution and dominance of AOB,NOB and anam-mox(Winkler et al.,2011b).Although a number of studies have been conducted to assess the ecology and microbiology of AOB in wastewater treatment systems,the information on the dynamics,distribution,and quantification of AOB communities during sludge granulation is still limited up to now.
To address these concerns,the main objective of the present work was to investigate the population dynamics of AOB communities during the development of seedingflocs into granules,and the distribution of AOB and NOB in different size granules from an anaerobic e aerobic SBR.A combination of process studies,molecular biotechniques and microscale techniques were employed to identify and char-acterize these organisms.Based on these approaches,we demonstrate the differences in both AOB community evolu-tion and composition of theflocs and granules co-existing in the SBR and further elucidate the relationship between distribution of nitrifying bacteria and granule size.It is ex-pected that the work would be useful to better understand the mechanisms responsible for the AOB in granules and apply them for optimal control and management strategies of granulation systems.
2.Material and methods
2.1.Reactor set-up and operation
The granules were cultivated in a lab-scale SBR with an effective volume of4L.The effective diameter and height of the reactor was10cm and51cm,respectively.The hydraulic retention time was set at8h.Activated sludge from a full-scale sewage treat-ment plant(Jizhuangzi Sewage Treatment Works,Tianjin, China)was used as the seed sludge for the reactor at an initial sludge concentration of3
876mg LÀ1in MLSS.The reactor was operated on6-h cycles,consisting of2-min influent feeding,90-min anaerobic phase(mixing),240-min aeration phase and5-min effluent discharge periods.The sludge settling time was reduced gradually from10to5min after80SBR cycles in20days, and only particles with a settling velocity higher than4.5m hÀ1 were retained in the reactor.The composition of the influent media were NaAc(450mg LÀ1),NH4Cl(100mg LÀ1),(NH4)2SO4 (10mg LÀ1),KH2PO4(20mg LÀ1),MgSO4$7H2O(50mg LÀ1),KCl (20mg LÀ1),CaCl2(20mg LÀ1),FeSO4$7H2O(1mg LÀ1),pH7.0e7.5, and0.1mL LÀ1trace element solution(Li et al.,2007).
Analytical methods-The total organic carbon(TOC),NHþ4e N, NOÀ2e N,NOÀ3e N,total nitrogen(TN),total phosphate(TP) concentration,mixed liquid suspended solids(MLSS) concentration,and sludge volume index at10min(SVI10)were measured regularly according to the standard methods (APHA-AWWA-WEF,2005).
Sludge size distribution was determined by the sieving method(Laguna et al.,1999).Screening was performed with four stainless steel sieves of5cm diameter having respective mesh openings of0.9,0.6,0.45,and0.2mm.A100mL volume of sludge from the reactor was sampled with a calibrated cylinder and then deposited on the0.9mm mesh sieve.The sample was subsequently washed with distilled water and particles less than0.9mm in diameter passed through this sieve to the sieves with s
maller openings.The washing procedure was repeated several times to separate the gran-ules.The granules collected on the different screens were recovered by backwashing with distilled water.Each fraction was collected in a different beaker andfiltered on quantitative filter paper to determine the total suspended solid(TSS).Once the amount of total suspended solid(TSS)retained on each sieve was acquired,it was reasonable to determine for each class of size(<0.2,[0.2e0.45],[0.45e0.6],[0.6e0.9],>0.9mm) the percentage of the total weight that they represent.
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2.2.DNA extraction and nested PCR e DGGE
The sludge from approximately8mg of MLSS was transferred into a1.5-mL Eppendorf tube and then centrifuged at14,000g for10min.The supernatant was removed,and the pellet was added to1mL of sodium phosphate buffer solution and aseptically mixed with a sterilized pestle in order to detach granules.Genomic DNA was extracted from the pellets using E.Z.N.A.äSoil DNA kit(D5625-01,Omega Bio-tek Inc.,USA).
To amplify ammonia-oxidizer specific16S rRNA for dena-turing gradient gel electrophoresis(DGGE),a nested PCR approach was performed as described previously(Zhang et al., 2010).30m l of nested PC
R amplicons(with5m l6Âloading buffer)were loaded and separated by DGGE on polyacrylamide gels(8%,37.5:1acrylamide e bisacrylamide)with a linear gradient of35%e55%denaturant(100%denaturant¼7M urea plus40%formamide).The gel was run for6.5h at140V in 1ÂTAE buffer(40mM Tris-acetate,20mM sodium acetate, 1mM Na2EDTA,pH7.4)maintained at60 C(DCodeäUniversal Mutation Detection System,Bio-Rad,Hercules,CA, USA).After electrophoresis,silver-staining and development of the gels were performed as described by Sanguinetti et al. (1994).These were followed by air-drying and scanning with a gel imaging analysis system(Image Quant350,GE Inc.,USA). The gel images were analyzed with the software Quantity One,version4.31(Bio-rad).
Dice index(Cs)of pair wise community similarity was calculated to evaluate the similarity of the AOB community among DGGE lanes(LaPara et al.,2002).This index ranges from0%(no common band)to100%(identical band patterns) with the assistance of Quantity One.
The Shannon diversity index(H)was used to measure the microbial diversity that takes into account the richness and proportion of each species in a population.H was calculated
using the following equation:H¼ÀP
n i
N
log
n i
N
,where n i/N
is the proportion of community made up by species i(bright-ness of the band i/total brightness of all bands in the lane).
Dendrograms relating band pattern similarities were automatically calculated without band weighting(consider-ation of band density)by the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean(UPGMA)algorithms in the Quantity One software.
Prominent DGGE bands were excised and dissolved in30m L Milli-Q water overnight,at4 C.DNA was r
ecovered from the gel by freeze e thawing thrice.Cloning and sequencing of the target DNA fragments were conducted following the estab-lished method(Zhang et al.,2010).2.3.Distribution of nitrifying bacteria
Three classes of size([0.2e0.45],[0.45e0.6],>0.9mm)were chosen on day180for FISH analysis in order to investigate the spatial distribution characteristics of AOB and NOB in granules.2mg sludge samples werefixed in4%para-formaldehyde solution for16e24h at4 C and then washed twice with sodium phosphate buffer;the samples were dehydrated in50%,80%and100%ethanol for10min each. Ethanol in the granules was then completely replaced by xylene by serial immersion in ethanol-xylene solutions of3:1, 1:1,and1:3by volume andfinally in100%xylene,for10min periods at room temperature.Subsequently,the granules were embedded in paraffin(m.p.56e58 C)by serial immer-sion in1:1xylene-paraffin for30min at60 C,followed by 100%paraffin.After solidification in paraffin,8-m m-thick sections were prepared and placed on gelatin-coated micro-scopic slides.Paraffin was removed by immersing the slide in xylene and ethanol for30min each,followed by air-drying of the slides.
The three oligonucleotide probes were used for hybridiza-tion(Downing and Nerenberg,2008):FITC-labeled Nso190, which targets the majority of AOB;TRITC-labeled NIT3,which targets Nitrobacter sp.;TRITC-labeled NSR1156,which targets Nitrospira sp.All probe sequences,their hybridization condi-t
ions,and washing conditions are given in Table1.Oligonu-cleotides were synthesized andfluorescently labeled with fluorochomes by Takara,Inc.(Dalian,China).
Hybridizations were performed at46 C for2h with a hybridization buffer(0.9M NaCl,formamide at the percentage shown in Table1,20mM Tris/HCl,pH8.0,0.01% SDS)containing each labeled probe(5ng m LÀ1).After hybrid-ization,unbound oligonucleotides were removed by a strin-gent washing step at48 C for15min in washing buffer containing the same components as the hybridization buffer except for the probes.
For detection of all DNA,4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI)was diluted with methanol to afinal concentration of1ng m LÀ1.Cover the slides with DAPI e methanol and incubate for15min at37 C.The slides were subsequently washed once with methanol,rinsed briefly with ddH2O and immediately air-dried.Vectashield(Vector Laboratories)was used to prevent photo bleaching.The hybridization images were captured using a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM,Zeiss710).A total of10images were captured for each probe at each class of size.The representative images were selected andfinal image evaluation was done in Adobe PhotoShop.
w a t e r r e s e a r c h x x x(2011)1e103
3.
Results
3.1.
SBR performance and granule characteristics
During the startup period,the reactor removed TOC and NH 4þ-
N efficiently.98%of NH 4þ-N and 100%of TOC were removed from the influent by day 3and day 5respectively (Figs.S2,S3,Supporting information ).Removal of TN and TP were lower during this perio
d (Figs.S3,S4,Supporting information ),though the removal of TP gradually improved to 100%removal by day 33(Fig.S4,Supporting information ).
To determine the sludge volume index of granular sludge,a settling time of 10min was chosen instead of 30min,because granular sludge has a similar SVI after 60min and after 5min of settling (Schwarzenbeck et al.,2004b ).The SVI 10of the inoculating sludge was 108.2mL g À1.The changing patterns of MLSS and SVI 10in the continuous operation of the SBR are illustrated in Fig.1.The sludge settleability increased markedly during the set-up period.Fig.2reflects the slow and
gradual process of sludge ,from flocculent
sludge to granules.
3.2.DGGE analysis:AOB communities structure changes during sludge granulation
The results of nested PCR were shown in Fig.S1.The well-resolved DGGE bands were obtained at the representative points throughout the GSBR operation and the patterns revealed that the structure of the AOB communities was dynamic during sludge granulation and stabilization (Fig.3).The community structure at the end of experiment was different from that of the initial pattern of the seed sludge.The A
OB communities on day 1showed 40%similarity only to that at the end of the GSBR operation (Table S1,Supporting information ),indicating the considerable difference of AOB communities structures between inoculated sludge and granular sludge.Biodiversity based on the DGGE patterns was analyzed by calculating the Shannon diversity index H as
204060801001201401
25
41
59
73
84
94
104
115
125
135
147
160
172
188
Time (d)
S V I 10 (m L .g -1
)
1000200030004000500060007000
8000900010000M L S S  (m g .L -1
)
Fig.1e Change in biomass content and SVI 10during whole operation.SVI,sludge volume index;MLSS,mixed liquid suspended
solids.
Fig.2e Variation in granule size distribution in the sludge during operation.d,particle diameter;TSS,total suspended solids.
w a t e r r e s e a r c h x x x (2011)1e 10
4
shown in Fig.S5.In the phase of sludge inoculation (before day 38),H decreased remarkably (from 0.94to 0.75)due to the absence of some species in the reactor.Though several dominant species (bands2,7,10,11)in the inoculating sludge were preserved,many bands disappeared or weakened (bands 3,4,6,8,13,14,15).After day 45,the diversity index tended to be stable and showed small fluctuation (from 0.72to 0.82).Banding pattern similarity was analyzed by applying UPGMA (Fig.4)algorithms.The UPGMA analysis showed three groups with intragroup similarity at approximately 67%e 78%and intergroup similarity at 44e 62%.Generally,the clustering followed the time course;and the algorithms showed a closer clustering of groups II and III.In the analysis,group I was associated with sludge inoculation and washout,group II
with
Fig.3e DGGE profile of the AOB communities in the SBR during the sludge granulation process (lane labels along the top show the sampling time (days)from startup of the bioreactor).The major bands were labeled with the numbers (bands 1e
15).
Fig.4e UPGMA analysis dendrograms of AOB community DGGE banding patterns,showing schematics of banding patterns.Roman numerals indicate major clusters.
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