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Sulfide alters microbial functional potential in a methane and nitrogen cycling biofilm reactor.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Delgado Vela, J; Bristow, LA; Marchant, HK; Love, NG; Dick, GJ
Published in: Environmental microbiology
March 2021

Cross-feeding of metabolites between coexisting cells leads to complex and interconnected elemental cycling and microbial interactions. These relationships influence overall community function and can be altered by changes in substrate availability. Here, we used isotopic rate measurements and metagenomic sequencing to study how cross-feeding relationships changed in response to stepwise increases of sulfide concentrations in a membrane-aerated biofilm reactor that was fed with methane and ammonium. Results showed that sulfide: (i) decreased nitrite oxidation rates but increased ammonia oxidation rates; (ii) changed the denitrifying community and increased nitrous oxide production; and (iii) induced dissimilatory nitrite reduction to ammonium (DNRA). We infer that inhibition of nitrite oxidation resulted in higher nitrite availability for DNRA, anammox, and nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation. In other words, sulfide likely disrupted microbial cross-feeding between AOB and NOB and induced cross-feeding between AOB and nitrite reducing organisms. Furthermore, these cross-feeding relationships were spatially distributed between biofilm and planktonic phases of the reactor. These results indicate that using sulfide as an electron donor will promote N2 O and ammonium production, which is generally not desirable in engineered systems.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Environmental microbiology

DOI

EISSN

1462-2920

ISSN

1462-2912

Publication Date

March 2021

Volume

23

Issue

3

Start / End Page

1481 / 1495

Related Subject Headings

  • Sulfides
  • Oxidation-Reduction
  • Nitrogen
  • Nitrites
  • Microbiology
  • Methane
  • Denitrification
  • Bioreactors
  • Biofilms
  • Anaerobiosis
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Delgado Vela, J., Bristow, L. A., Marchant, H. K., Love, N. G., & Dick, G. J. (2021). Sulfide alters microbial functional potential in a methane and nitrogen cycling biofilm reactor. Environmental Microbiology, 23(3), 1481–1495. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.15352
Journal cover image

Published In

Environmental microbiology

DOI

EISSN

1462-2920

ISSN

1462-2912

Publication Date

March 2021

Volume

23

Issue

3

Start / End Page

1481 / 1495

Related Subject Headings

  • Sulfides
  • Oxidation-Reduction
  • Nitrogen
  • Nitrites
  • Microbiology
  • Methane
  • Denitrification
  • Bioreactors
  • Biofilms
  • Anaerobiosis