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Microbial ecology in selenate‐reducing biofilm communities: Rare biosphere and their interactions with abundant phylotypes
Author(s) -
EsquivelHernández Diego A.,
GarcíaPérez Jonathan S.,
Xu Xiaoyin,
Metha Sanya,
Maldonado Juan,
Xia Siqing,
Zhao HePing,
Rittmann Bruce E.,
OntiverosValencia Aura
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.27754
Subject(s) - phylotype , biosphere , biofilm , ecology , microbial ecology , microbial population biology , biology , selenate , bacteria , chemistry , selenium , genetics , 16s ribosomal rna , organic chemistry
Abstract Selenate (SeO 4 2− ) reduction in hydrogen (H 2 )‐fed membrane biofilm reactors (H 2 ‐MBfRs) was studied in combinations with other common electron acceptors. We employed H 2 ‐MBfRs with two distinctly different conditions: R1, with ample electron‐donor availability and acceptors SeO 4 2− and sulfate (SO 4 2− ), and R2, with electron‐donor limitation and the presence of electron acceptors SeO 4 2− , nitrate (NO 3 − ), and SO 4 2− . Even though H 2 was available to reduce all input SeO 4 2− and SO 4 2− in R1, SeO 4 2− reduction was preferred over SO 4 2− reduction. In R2, co‐reduction of NO 3 − and SeO 4 2− occurred, and SO 4 2− reduction was mostly suppressed. Biofilms in all MBfRs had high microbial diversity that was influenced by the “rare biosphere” (RB), phylotypes with relative abundance less than 1%. While all MBfR biofilms had abundant members, such as Dechloromonas and Methyloversatilis , the bacterial communities were significantly different between R1 and R2. For R1, abundant genera were Methyloversatilis, Melioribacter , and Propionivibrio ; for R2, abundant genera were Dechloromonas, Hydrogenophaga, Cystobacter, Methyloversatilis , and Thauera . Although changes in electron‐acceptor or ‐donor loading altered the phylogenetic structure of the microbial communities, the biofilm communities were resilient in terms of SeO 4 2− and NO 3 − reductions, because interacting members of the RB had the capacity of respiring these electron acceptors.