Microbial community assembly in engineered bioreactors

Savanna K Smith; Joseph E Weaver; Joel J Ducoste; Francis L de Los Reyes 3rd

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2024.121495

Microbial community assembly in engineered bioreactors

Water Res. 2024 May 15:255:121495. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121495. Epub 2024 Mar 19.

Authors

Savanna K Smith¹, Joseph E Weaver², Joel J Ducoste¹, Francis L de Los Reyes 3rd³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
² School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
³ Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA. Electronic address: delosreyes@ncsu.edu.

PMID: 38554629
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121495

Abstract

Microbial community assembly (MCA) processes that shape microbial communities in environments are being used to analyze engineered bioreactors such as activated sludge systems and anaerobic digesters. The goal of studying MCA is to be able to understand and predict the effect of design and operation procedures on bioreactor microbial composition and function. Ultimately, this can lead to bioreactors that are more efficient, resilient, or resistant to perturbations. This review summarizes the ecological theories underpinning MCA, evaluates MCA analysis methods, analyzes how these MCA-based methods are applied to engineered bioreactors, and extracts lessons from case studies. Furthermore, we suggest future directions in MCA research in engineered bioreactor systems. The review aims to provide insights and guidance to the growing number of environmental engineers who wish to design and understand bioreactors through the lens of MCA.

Keywords: Microbial community assembly; bioreactors.

Publication types

Review