Long-term in situ bioelectrochemical monitoring of biohythane process: Metabolic interactions and microbial evolution

Sijie Huang; Mengmeng Shen; Zhiyong Jason Ren; Houkai Wu; Hao Yang; Buchun Si; Jianhan Lin; Zhidan Liu

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125119

Long-term in situ bioelectrochemical monitoring of biohythane process: Metabolic interactions and microbial evolution

Bioresour Technol. 2021 Jul:332:125119. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125119. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Authors

Sijie Huang¹, Mengmeng Shen¹, Zhiyong Jason Ren², Houkai Wu¹, Hao Yang¹, Buchun Si¹, Jianhan Lin³, Zhidan Liu⁴

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Environment-Enhancing Energy (E2E), Key Laboratory of Agricultural Engineering in Structure and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China.
² Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, United States.
³ Key Laboratory of Agricultural Information Acquisition Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China.
⁴ Laboratory of Environment-Enhancing Energy (E2E), Key Laboratory of Agricultural Engineering in Structure and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China. Electronic address: zdliu@cau.edu.cn.

PMID: 33848821
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125119

Abstract

Microbial stability and evolution are a critical aspect for biosensors, especially in detecting dynamic and emerging anaerobic biohythane production. In this study, two upflow air-cathode chamber microbial fuel cells (UMFCs) were developed for in situ monitoring of the biohydrogen and biomethane reactors under a COD range of 1000-6000 mg/L and 150-1000 mg/L, respectively. Illumina MiSeq sequencing evidenced the dramatic shift of dominant microbial communities in UMFCs from hydrolytic and acidification bacteria (Clostridiaceae_1, Ruminococcaceae, Peptostreptococcaceae) to acetate-oxidizing bacteria (Synergistaceae, Dysgonomonadaceae, Spirochaetaceae). In addition, exoelectroactive bacteria evaluated from Enterobacteriaceae and Burkholderiaceae to Desulfovibrionaceae and Propionibacteriaceae. Especially, Hydrogenotrophic methanogens (Methanobacteriaceae) were abundant at 93.41% in UMFC (for monitoring hydrogen reactor), which was speculated to be a major metabolic pathway for methane production. Principal component analysis revealed a similarity in microbial structure between UMFCs and methane bioreactors. Microbial network analysis suggested a more stable community structure of UMFCs with 205 days' operation.

Keywords: Anaerobic digestion; Biohythane; Long-term monitoring; Microbial evolution; Microbial fuel cell.

MeSH terms

Anaerobiosis
Bioreactors*
Methane*
Methanobacteriaceae
Microbial Consortia

Substances

Methane