Biological conversion pathways of sulfate reduction ammonium oxidation in anammox consortia

• The SRAO phenomena tended to occur only under certain conditions. • High amount of biomass and non-anaerobic condition is requirement for SRAO. • Anammox bacteria cannot oxidize ammonium with sulfate as electron acceptor. • AOB and AnAOB are mainly responsible for ammonium conversion. • Heterotrophic sulfate reduction mainly contributed to sulfate conversion. For over two decades, sulfate reduction with ammonium oxidation (SRAO) had been reported from laboratory experiments. SRAO was considered an autotrophic process mediated by anammox bacteria, in which ammonium as electron donor was oxidized by the electron acceptor sulfate. This process had been attributed to observed transformations of nitrogenous and sulfurous compounds in natural environments. Results obtained differed largely for the conversion mole ratios (ammonium/sulfate), and even the intermediate and final products of sulfate reduction. Thus, the hypothesis of biological conversion pathways of ammonium and sulfate in anammox consortia is implausible. In this study, continuous reactor experiments (with working volume of 3.8L) and batch tests were conducted under normal anaerobic (0.2≤DO<0.5 mg/L) / strict anaerobic (DO<0.2 mg/L) conditions with different biomass proportions to verify the SRAO phenomena and identify possible pathways behind substrate conversion. Key findings were that SRAO occurred only in cases of high amounts of inoculant biomass under normal anaerobic condition, while absent under strict anaerobic conditions for same anammox consortia. Mass balance and stoichiometry were checked based on experimental results and the thermodynamics proposed by previous studies were critically discussed. Thus anammox bacteria do not possess the ability to oxidize ammonium with sulfate as electron acceptor and the assumed SRAO could, in fact, be a combination of aerobic ammonium oxidation, anammox and heterotrophic sulfate reduction processes.     

Magnetotactic bacteria: Characteristics and environmental applications

• Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) synthesize magnetic nanoparticle within magnetosomes. • The morphologic and phylogenetic diversity of MTB were summarized. • Isolation and mass cultivation of MTB deserve extensive research for applications. • MTB can remove heavy metals, radionuclides, and organic pollutants from wastewater. Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are a group of Gram-negative prokaryotes that respond to the geomagnetic field. This unique property is attributed to the intracellular magnetosomes, which contains membrane-bound nanocrystals of magnetic iron minerals. This review summarizes the most recent advances in MTB, magnetosomes, and their potential applications especially the environmental pollutant control or remediation. The morphologic and phylogenetic diversity of MTB were first introduced, followed by a critical review of isolation and cultivation methods. Past research has devoted to optimize the factors, such as oxygen, carbon source, nitrogen source, nutrient broth, iron source, and mineral elements for the growth of MTB. Besides the applications of MTB in modern biological and medical fields, little attention was made on the environmental applications of MTB for wastewater treatment, which has been summarized in this review. For example, applications of MTB as adsorbents have resulted in a novel magnetic separation technology for removal of heavy metals or organic pollutants in wastewater. In addition, we summarized the current advance on pathogen removal and detection of endocrine disruptor which can inspire new insights toward sustainable engineering and practices. Finally, the new perspectives and possible directions for future studies are recommended, such as isolation of MTB, genetic modification of MTB for mass production and new environmental applications. The ultimate objective of this review is to promote the applications of MTB and magnetosomes in the environmental fields.     

Evaluation of the relationship of picoplankton and viruses to environmental variables in a lagoon system (Çakalburnu Lagoon,Turkey)

Lagoons are defined as wetlands separated from the sea coasts on which they are located and sit between continental and marine aquatic ecosystems. Çakalburnu Lagoon is a coastal wetland on the southern side of the Bay of ?zmir. Microorganisms, which are quite sensitive to changes occurring in environmental factors, are commonly used to determine the impact of environmental effects on the functioning of the ecosystem. In this study, variations in the abundance and biomass of picoplankton (Synechococcus spp. and bacteria) and the abundance of viruses, which identify the ecological productivity of the food chain, were seasonally examined by epifluorescence microscopy. Moreover, the microbial abundance and biomass relation over time between the physical and chemical parameters was evaluated. According to our results, the maximum abundance of Synechococcus spp. and viruses was 6.7?×?10⁴ cell/ml and 9.9?×?10⁸?cell/ml in the summer, respectively. Otherwise, the highest level of bacteria was measured at 3.6?×?10⁷ cell/ml in the spring. Based on the principal component analysis and Pearson correlation analysis results, we concluded that total suspended solids, Chl-a, particulate organic carbon and particulate organic nitrogen were the major parameters influencing the observed variability of the lagoon system. Overall, to protect and improve the ecological and microbiological quality of aquatic systems such as lagoons, the necessary monitoring and measurement studies should be conducted in these sensitive areas.     

The size distribution of airborne bacteria and human pathogenic bacteria in a commercial composting plant

•Bacterial concentrations from eight stages were 10⁴–10⁵copies/m³. •Diameter influenced clustering of bacterial and HPB lineages. •Dg of 8 HPB ranged from 2.42 to 5.09 μm in composting areas. •Dg of 8 HPB ranged from 3.70 to 8.96 μm in packaging areas. •HPB had high concentrations and small sizes in composting areas. Composting plants are regarded as one of the important sources of environmental bioaerosols. However, limitations in the size distribution of airborne bacteria have prevented our comprehensive understanding of their risk to human health and their dispersal behavior. In this study, different sizes of airborne bacteria were collected using an eight-stage impactor from a full-scale composting facility. Size-related abundance and communities of airborne bacteria as well as human pathogenic bacteria (HPB) were investigated using 16S rRNA gene sequencing coupled with droplet digital PCR. Our results indicate that the bacterial concentrations from the eight stages were approximately 10⁴–10⁵copies/m³. Although no statistical correlation was detected between the particle size and the Shannon index, the influence of size on bacterial lineages was observed in both composting and packaging areas. For airborne bacteria from different stages, the dominant phyla were Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria, and the dominant genera was Bacillus. Seven out of eight HPB with a small geometric mean aerodynamic diameter had a high concentration in composting areas. Based on diameters of 2.42 to 5.09 μm, most HPB in the composting areas were expected to be deposited on the bronchus and secondary bronchus. However, in the packaging areas, the deposition of HPB (diameters 3.70 to 8.96 μm) occurred in the upper part of the respiratory tract. Our results on the size distribution, abundance, and diversity of these bacteria offer important information for the systematic evaluation of bacterial pathogenicity and the potential health impacts on workers in composting plants and the surrounding residents.     

一株高效苯酚降解菌的性能研究及动力学分析

苯酚和酚类化合物是工业废水中的主要环境污染物,如焦化厂、炼油厂和石油化工厂等,去除工业废水中的酚类化合物对环境保护有极其重要的意义。通过富集驯化,从石化污水处理厂的活性污泥中筛选出一株产生物表面活性剂的高效苯酚降解菌。并对其进行了生理生化鉴定及降解性能的研究。实验结果表明,BPH-3菌为假单胞杆菌;菌株最佳的降解条件pH=7.0,温度为30℃,转速为150 r/min,最高耐盐度为3%,在接种量为5%,苯酚初始质量浓度为600 mg/L,菌株12 h内的降解率可达100%。     

Exploration of relationships between safety performance and unsafe behavior in the Chinese oil industry

Safety performance is comprised of two components, safety compliance and safety participation. However, relationships between safety performance and unsafe behavior have not been thoroughly investigated. In this work, scales for safety compliance and safety participation were revised for use in the oil industry, and job burnout scale was developed on the basis of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS). A structural equation model was then employed to investigate the interactions of these factors for 238 front-line oil workers from the PetroChina Huabei Oilfield Company in China. From the results, it was determined that workers' unsafe behavior could not be reduced significantly solely from these two dimensions of safety performance. Compared with safety participation, safety compliance was found to have a greater influence on unsafe behavior. However, job burnout was found to be a significant moderator between these two components and unsafe behavior. Furthermore, it was determined that oil workers' occupational psychological health conditions must be taken into account to improve organizational safety management and reduce workers’ unsafe behavior.     

序批式移动床生物膜反应器富集反硝化聚磷菌及其在单污泥系统中的应用

本文介绍了在单污泥系统中选择和富集反硝化聚磷菌的国内外研究进展,对不同研究者提出的选择和富集反硝化聚磷菌的方法进行了分析和评价,并提出将反硝化聚磷菌与移动床生物膜反应器工艺结合起来,在序批式移动床生物膜反应器悬浮填料上选择和富集反硝化聚磷菌,进一步认识了反硝化聚磷菌的生化特征,使其成为反应器中优势菌群,以及该工艺今后的研究重点。     

重金属对硫酸盐还原菌影响

含重金属硫酸盐废水是我国工业水污染的突出问题,利用硫酸盐还原菌的生物去除重金属的方法具有投资少、成本低、能耗少、去除率高,没有二次污染等优点而成为研究的热点。文章以混合培混养物作为接种污泥,考察不同浓度的重金属离子(Cu2+、Cd2+、Ni2+、Hg2+)对硫酸盐还原菌(Sulfate reducing bacteria,SRB)的抑制作用。研究表明:10 mg/L的Cu2+、Cd2+和20 mg/L的Hg2+对SRB还原硫酸盐的影响较小,硫酸盐最大去除率可分别达到94.1%、94.6%、91.3%,与空白(93.9%)相近;20 mg/L的Cu2+对SRB的抑制最为强烈,硫酸盐最大还原率仅为48.2%,剩余金属离子(Cd2+、Ni2+、Hg2+)都分别随着浓度的增大而对SRB的抑制作用增强;相同浓度的重金属离子对SRB的抑制顺序为Ni2+>Cu2+>Cd2+>Hg2+,抑制浓度分别为10、20、30、60 mg/L。最后阐述了各个反应器中硫酸盐还原率最大时,(WCOD/WSO42-)与硫酸盐还原率的关系。     

垃圾填埋场中真细菌群落16S rRNA基因的分析

回灌式垃圾填埋场渗滤液中真细菌群落的多样性同样通过不依赖于微生物培养的分析而获得。利用特异性的引物对,选择性地扩增渗滤液DNA中的真细菌16S rRNA基因片断(16S rDNA),并用于构建16S rDNA克隆文库。文库内真细菌16S rDNA的遗传多样性通过限制片断长度多态性分析(RFLP,限制性内切酶Hin PII和Msp I)而获得。初步的结果表明,随机选出的200个真细菌克隆子被分为147个不同的RFLP型(组),当中丰度最高的两个型均仅含有9个克隆子,两者共占所有被分析克隆子的不到10%;克隆子数≥2的型共有21个(包括以上2个丰度最高的型),它们共代表74个克隆子,占所有被分析克隆子的37%;而剩下的126个型均只含有1个克隆子,它们共占整个基因文库的63%。由此可见,李坑垃圾渗滤液中的真细菌具有非常复杂的群落结构。     

亚磷酸盐降解微生物的筛选、鉴定和降解特性

从太湖底泥中筛选出一株能够利用亚磷酸盐(+3价)的细菌P1.通过生理生化实验及16S rDNA基因序列分析鉴定,P1菌与所有已知菌的同源性都很低,属于未知的新菌株.P1菌的最适培养条件为:pH6.5~7.0、温度30℃.P1菌能以亚磷酸盐为唯一磷源生长,在60~100mg P/L的初始亚磷酸盐培养条件下,100mgP/L的亚磷酸盐培养基中亚磷酸盐减少量最大(11%),培养基中生成正磷酸盐的比例最高1.6%.初始亚磷酸盐浓度越低,碱性磷酸酶(BAP)活性越高,60mgP/L的亚磷酸盐培养基中BAP的最高活性为1.86mol PNP/(L菌液·h).P1菌可能通过BAP将亚磷酸盐转化成生物体内所需的磷源.