Thickness determines microbial community structure and function in nitrifying biofilms via deterministic assembly
Journal article, 2019

Microbial biofilms are ubiquitous in aquatic environments where they provide important ecosystem functions. A key property believed to influence the community structure and function of biofilms is thickness. However, since biofilm thickness is inextricably linked to external factors such as water flow, temperature, development age and nutrient conditions, its importance is difficult to quantify. Here, we designed an experimental system in a wastewater treatment plant whereby nitrifying biofilms with different thicknesses (50 or 400 mu m) were grown in a single reactor, and thus subjected to identical external conditions. The 50 and 400 mu m biofilm communities were significantly different. This beta-diversity between biofilms of different thickness was primarily caused by deterministic factors. Turnover (species replacement) contributed more than nestedness (species loss) to the beta-diversity, i.e. the 50 mu m communities were not simply a subset of the 400 mu m communities. Moreover, the two communities differed in the composition of nitrogen-transforming bacteria and in nitrogen transformation rates. The study illustrates that biofilm thickness alone is a key driver for community composition and ecosystem function, which has implications for biotechnological applications and for our general understanding of biofilm ecology.

Author

Carolina Suarez

Chalmers, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Water Environment Technology

University of Gothenburg

Maria Piculell

Veolia Water Technologies AB

Oskar Modin

Chalmers, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Water Environment Technology

Silke Langenheder

Uppsala University

Frank Persson

Chalmers, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Water Environment Technology

Malte Hermansson

University of Gothenburg

Scientific Reports

2045-2322 (ISSN) 20452322 (eISSN)

Vol. 9 1 5110

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Biosorption in the Activated Sludge Process: Mechanisms, Kinetics, and Implications for Process Design

Formas (2012-1433), 2013-01-01 -- 2017-12-31.

Subject Categories

Botany

Ecology

Microbiology

DOI

10.1038/s41598-019-41542-1

PubMed

30911066

More information

Latest update

4/5/2022 6