Effect of a high strength chemical industry wastewater on microbial community dynamics and mesophilic methane generation

A high strength chemical industry wastewater was assessed for its impact on anaerobic microbial com- munity dynamics and consequently mesophilic methane generation. Cumulative methane production was 251 mL/g total chemical oxygen demand removed at standard temperature and pressure at the end of 30 days experimental period with a highest recorded methane percentage of 80.6% of total biogas volume. Volatile fatty acids （VFAs） analysis revealed that acetic acid was the major intermediate VFAs produced with propionic acid accumulating over the experimental period. Quantitative analysis of microbial communities in the test and control groups with quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction highlighted that in the test group, Eubacteria （96.3%） was dominant in comparison with methanogens （3.7%）. The latter were dominated by Methanomicrobiales and Methanobacteriales while in test groups increased over the experimental period, reaching a maximum on day 30. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profile was performed, targeting the 16S rRNA gene of Eubacteria and Archaea, with the DNA samples extracted at 3 different time points from the test groups. A phylogenetic tree was constructed for the sequences using the neighborhood joining method. The analysis revealed that the presence of organisms resembling Syntrophomonadaceae could have contributed to increased production of acetic and propionic acid intermediates while decrease of organisms resembling Pelotomaculum sp. could have most likely contributed to accumulation of propionic acid. This study suggested that the degradation of organic components within the high strength industrial wastewater is closely linked with the activity of certain niche microbial communities within eubacteria and methanogens.     

Community structure and elevational diversity patterns of soil Acidobacteria

Acidobacteria is one of the most dominant and abundant phyla in soil,and was believed to have a wide range of metabolic and genetic functions. Relatively little is known about its community structure and elevational diversity patterns. We selected four elevation gradients from 1000 to 2800 m with typical vegetation types of the northern slope of Shennongjia Mountain in central China. The vegetation types were evergreen broadleaved forest,deciduous broadleaved forest,coniferous forest and sub-alpine shrubs. We analyzed the soil acidobacterial community composition,elevational patterns and the relationship between Acidobacteria subdivisions and soil enzyme activities by using the 16 S rRNA meta-sequencing technique and multivariate statistical analysis. The result found that 19 known subdivisions as well as an unclassified phylotype were presented in these forest sites,and Subdivision 6 has the highest number of detectable operational taxonomic units(OTUs). A significant single peak distribution pattern(P 0.05) between the OTU number and the elevation was observed. The Jaccard and Bray–Curtis index analysis showed that the soil Acidobacteria compositional similarity significantly decreased(P 0.01) with the increase in elevation distance. Mantel test analysis showed the most of the soil Acidobacteria subdivisions had the significant relationship(P 0.01) with different soil enzymes. Therefore,soil Acidobacteria may be involved in different ecosystem functions in global elemental cycles. Partial Mantel tests and CCA analysis showed that soil pH,soil temperature and plant diversity may be the key factors in shaping the soil Acidobacterial community structure.     

Reduction and characterization of bioaerosols in a wastewater treatment station via ventilation

Bioaerosols from wastewater treatment processes are a significant subgroup of atmospheric aerosols. In the present study,airborne microorganisms generated from a wastewater treatment station(WWTS) that uses an oxidation ditch process were diminished by ventilation.Conventional sampling and detection methods combined with cloning/sequencing techniques were applied to determine the groups,concentrations,size distributions,and species diversity of airborne microorganisms before and after ventilation. There were 3021 ± 537 CFU/m3 of airborne bacteria and 926 ± 132 CFU/m3 of airborne fungi present in the WWTS bioaerosol.Results showed that the ventilation reduced airborne microorganisms significantly compared to the air in the WWTS. Over 60% of airborne bacteria and airborne fungi could be reduced after4 hr of air exchange. The highest removal(92.1% for airborne bacteria and 89.1% for fungi) was achieved for 0.65–1.1 μm sized particles. The bioaerosol particles over 4.7 μm were also reduced effectively. Large particles tended to be lost by gravitational settling and small particles were generally carried away,which led to the relatively easy reduction of bioaerosol particles0.65–1.1 μm and over 4.7 μm in size. An obvious variation occurred in the structure of the bacterial communities when ventilation was applied to control the airborne microorganisms in enclosed spaces.     

Inhibitory effects of nisin-coated multi-walled carbon nanotube sheet on biofilm formation from Bacillus anthracis spores

Multi-walled carbon nanotube（MWCNT） sheet was fabricated from a drawable MWCNT forest and then deposited on poly（methyl methacrylate） film. The film was further coated with a natural antimicrobial peptide nisin. We studied the effects of nisin coating on the attachment of Bacillus anthracis spores, the germination of attached spores, and the subsequent biofilm formation from attached spores. It was found that the strong adsorptivity and the super hydrophobicity of MWCNTs provided an ideal platform for nisin coating. Nisin coating on MWCNT sheets decreased surface hydrophobicity, reduced spore attachment, and reduced the germination of attached spores by 3.5 fold, and further inhibited the subsequent biofilm formation by 94.6% compared to that on uncoated MWCNT sheet. Nisin also changed the morphology of vegetative cells in the formed biofilm.The results of this study demonstrated that the anti-adhesion and antimicrobial effect of nisin in combination with the physical properties of carbon nanotubes had the potential in producing effective anti-biofilm formation surfaces.     

Nitrogen mass balance in a constructed wetland treating piggery wastewater effluent

The nitrogen changes and the nitrogen mass balance in a free water surface flow constructed wetland （CW） using the four-year monitoring data from 2008 to 2012 were estimated. The CW was composed of six cells in series that include the first settling basin （Cell 1）, aeration pond （Cell 2）, deep marsh （Cell 3）, shallow marsh （Cell 4）, deep marsh （Cell 5） and final settling basin （Cell 6）. Analysis revealed that the NH4＋-N concentration decreased because of ammonification which was then followed by nitrification. The NO4＋-N and NO4＋-N were also further reduced by means of microbial activities and plant uptake during photosynthesis. The average nitrogen concentration at the influent was 37,819 kg/year and approximately 45% of that amount exited the CW in the effluent. The denitrification amounted to 34% of the net nitrogen input, whereas the accretion of sediment was only 7%. The biomass uptake of plants was able to retain only 1% of total nitrogen load. In order to improve the nutrient removal by plant uptake, plant coverage in four cells （i.e., Cells 1, 3, 4 and 5） could be increased.     

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal phylogenetic groups differ in affecting host plants along heavy metal levels

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi（AMF） are important components of soil microbial communities,and play important role in plant growth. However, the effects of AMF phylogenetic groups（Glomeraceae and non-Glomeraceae） on host plant under various heavy metal levels are not clear. Here we conducted a meta-analysis to compare symbiotic relationship between AMF phylogenetic groups（Glomeraceae and non-Glomeraceae） and host plant functional groups（herbs vs. trees, and non-legumes vs. legumes） at three heavy metal levels. In the meta-analysis, we calculate the effect size（ln（RR）） by taking the natural logarithm of the response ratio of inoculated to non-inoculated shoot biomass from each study. We found that the effect size of Glomeraceae increased, but the effect size of non-Glomeraceae decreased under high level of heavy metal compared to low level. According to the effect size, both Glomeraceae and non-Glomeraceae promoted host plant growth, but had different effects under various heavy metal levels. Glomeraceae provided more benefit to host plants than non-Glomeraceae did under heavy metal condition, while non-Glomeraceae provided more benefit to host plants than Glomeraceae did under no heavy metal. AMF phylogenetic groups also differed in promoting plant functional groups under various heavy metal levels.Interacting with Glomeraceae, herbs and legumes grew better than trees and non-legumes did under high heavy metal level, while trees and legumes grew better than herbs and non-legumes did under medium heavy metal level. Interacting with non-Glomeraceae, herbs and legumes grew better than trees and non-legumes did under no heavy metal. We suggested that the combination of legume with Glomeraceae could be a useful way in the remediation of heavy metal polluted environment.     

高絮凝活性酿酒酵母菌株筛选及其培养条件研究

从实验室保藏菌种中筛选到1株具有高絮凝活性的酿酒酵母(Saccharomyces cerevisiae)菌株,利用其发酵液进行絮凝实验,结果表明:该絮凝剂对4 g/L、pH为7的高岭土悬浊液有很好的絮凝效果;该菌株产絮凝剂的最佳培养条件:碳源为葡萄糖,氮源为蛋白胨,培养温度为30℃,初始pH值为5.5,液体震荡培养96 h后絮凝率最高可达92.6%。     

珠江口咸潮上溯对水生植物群落的影响研究

针对近二十多年来珠江口咸潮异常上溯可能引起的水生态环境变化,首次通过对磨刀门水道上、中、下游各河段及出海口现场踏勘和植物样方调查并参考有关文献资料,系统研究了咸潮上溯对珠江口主要入海河道水生植物群落分布的影响,结果表明:(1)磨刀门水道及出海口沿岸植被分布具有明显的差异:下游河段和出海口门处耐盐的红树、半红树植物明显占优,种类也多;中游河段咸、淡水植物均为优势种;而上游河段虽然优势种仍为淡水植物,但也出现了原本在下游和口门处常见的咸水植物。(2)河道水体盐度的变化已反映在植被分布变化上,主要表现为与正常情况下的河口植物种群分布相比,在河道中应完全是淡水植物分布的河段变为淡水植物、广适性植物和半咸水植物共同分布。(3)咸潮超常上溯是导致入海河道上、中游河段植物优势群落由喜淡水植物群落演替为广适性植物群落和半咸水(咸水)植物群落的根本原因。     

微生物与铀的相互作用及其应用前景

放射性核素铀可能会对周围环境造成长期污染,因此,放射性废物中铀的处理受到了普遍关注。近年来,越来越多的证据表明,放射性核素污染微生物处理法与无机材料处理法同等重要。微生物与铀的相互作用机制主要包括以下几个方面:生物吸附,细胞内的聚积、沉淀和氧化还原转换。目前正在开展的研究旨在阐明从放射性物质贮存相关的各种极端环境中分离获得的菌株与铀之间相互作用的关键过程。对这些能与铀相互作用的细菌有了基本的了解,将有助于放射性废物处理、修复技术的发展及其在环境放射性污染防治中的推广应用。     

剩余污泥微生物燃料电池产电性能的优化试验研究

通过优化阴极材料,构建新型单室无膜壁式空气阴极微生物燃料电池,开展了污泥浓度、阳极面积、导线材料和NaCl离子浓度等影响因素及其优化试验研究。结果显示:在恒温30℃和外接电阻1 000Ω的条件下,以铜线为导线,污泥浓度为21 000 mg/L,阳极面积为31.4 cm2,Na+浓度为200 mmol/L时,其产电性能最佳,最大电压为597 mV,最大输出功率密度为301 mW/m2,内阻为92.5Ω。此外,还分析了污泥运行过程中的变化。与目前其他以未经过预处理的剩余污泥作为底物的微生物燃料电池相比,该新型单室无膜壁式空气阴极微生物燃料电池功率密度较高,内阻较低。