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Microorganisms
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Wastewater Microbiology
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Wastewater Microbiology

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2021) | Viewed by 19156

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Nicholas Frederick Gray

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Trinity Centre for the Environment, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College, University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
Interests: biological wastewater treatment; river pollution control and assessment; drinking water treatment; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The role of micro-organisms is pivotal in the treatment of domestic and industrial wastewaters, protecting both human health and the environment. The past two decades have seen many advances in the field of wastewater microbiology, including the role of biofilms within sewers; emerging pathogens in wastewater and their fate during treatment; new methods in the study and identification of wastewater micro-organisms; new microbial processes, especially in relation to ammonia removal; improved reactor design based primarily on improving the microbial activity; and better insight into reactor specific microbial dynamics and community structure. Wastewater bioreactors offer a wide variety of potential ecosystems creating complex microbial communities, and although these technologies are used globally, we still need a better understanding of how such microbial processes function, how they can be optimally managed, and especially how they respond to wastewater components to ensure more sustainable and cost-effective treatment for the future.

For this Special Issue of Microorganisms, we invite you to send contributions concerning any aspects relating to micro-organisms associated with, or in the treatment of, domestic or industrial wastewaters. Both applied and basic research is welcomed, with our aim being to highlight the most recent advances in this important area.

Prof. Nicholas Frederick Gray
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • activated sludge
  • ammonia
  • applied microbiology
  • biofilms
  • biosolids
  • environmental engineering
  • environmental microbiology
  • microbiological methods
  • nutrient removal
  • pathogens
  • wastewater

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1707 KiB  
Article
Functional Interrelationships of Microorganisms in Iron-Based Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment
by Musfique Ahmed, Rifat Anwar, Dongyang Deng, Emily Garner and Lian-Shin Lin
Microorganisms 2021, 9(5), 1039; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9051039 - 12 May 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3438
Abstract
This study explicated the functional activities of microorganisms and their interrelationships under four previously reported iron reducing conditions to identify critical factors that governed the performance of these novel iron-dosed anaerobic biological wastewater treatment processes. Various iron-reducing bacteria (FeRB) and sulfate reducing bacteria [...] Read more.
This study explicated the functional activities of microorganisms and their interrelationships under four previously reported iron reducing conditions to identify critical factors that governed the performance of these novel iron-dosed anaerobic biological wastewater treatment processes. Various iron-reducing bacteria (FeRB) and sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) were identified as the predominant species that concurrently facilitated organics oxidation and the main contributors to removal of organics. The high organic contents of wastewater provided sufficient electron donors for active growth of both FeRB and SRB. In addition to the organic content, Fe (III) and sulfate concentrations (expressed by Fe/S ratio) were found to play a significant role in regulating the microbial abundance and functional activities. Various fermentative bacteria contributed to this FeRB-SRB synergy by fermenting larger organic compounds to smaller compounds, which were subsequently used by FeRB and SRB. Feammox (ferric reduction coupled to ammonium oxidation) bacterium was identified in the bioreactor fed with wastewater containing ammonium. Organic substrate level was a critical factor that regulated the competitive relationship between heterotrophic FeRB and Feammox bacteria. There were evidences that suggested a synergistic relationship between FeRB and nitrogen-fixing bacteria (NFB), where ferric iron and organics concentrations both promoted microbial activities of FeRB and NFB. A concept model was developed to illustrate the identified functional interrelationships and their governing factors for further development of the iron-based wastewater treatment systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Microbiology)
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12 pages, 1015 KiB  
Article
Removal Ability and Resistance to Cinnamic and Vanillic Acids by Fungi
by Barbara Speranza, Francesca Cibelli, Antonietta Baiano, Antonia Carlucci, Maria Luisa Raimondo, Daniela Campaniello, Ilaria Viggiani, Antonio Bevilacqua and Maria Rosaria Corbo
Microorganisms 2020, 8(6), 930; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8060930 - 19 Jun 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2096
Abstract
Twelve fungal strains were assayed to investigate their resistance to cinnamic and vanillic acids and their ability to remove these compounds from a liquid medium. In a first step, the effect of the two aromatic acids (1 g/L) on the fungal growth kinetic [...] Read more.
Twelve fungal strains were assayed to investigate their resistance to cinnamic and vanillic acids and their ability to remove these compounds from a liquid medium. In a first step, the effect of the two aromatic acids (1 g/L) on the fungal growth kinetic was studied. The results were modelled through a logistic like function (Dantigny equation) to estimate τ, which is the time to the half-maximum colony diameter. The key findings of this part were as follows: (i) generally, cinnamic acid exerted a stronger effect than vanillic acid; (ii) aromatic acids exerted a delay on the growth of some fungi and only one strain (Athelia rolfsii) was completely inhibited. In the second part, fungi were assayed to investigate their ability to remove cinnamic and vanillic acids (ca. 350 mg/kg) from liquid media at pH 3.5. The results indicated that the most efficient fungi were Aspergillus niger and Lasiodiplodia theobromae. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Microbiology)
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26 pages, 2559 KiB  
Article
Whole Genome Sequencing and Comparative Genomic Analyses of Lysinibacillus pakistanensis LZH-9, a Halotolerant Strain with Excellent COD Removal Capability
by Xueling Wu, Han Zhou, Liangzhi Li, Enhui Wang, Xiangyu Zhou, Yichao Gu, Xiaoyan Wu, Li Shen and Weimin Zeng
Microorganisms 2020, 8(5), 716; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8050716 - 12 May 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3846
Abstract
Halotolerant microorganisms are promising in bio-treatment of hypersaline industrial wastewater. Four halotolerant bacteria strains were isolated from wastewater treatment plant, of which a strain LZH-9 could grow in the presence of up to 14% (w/v) NaCl, and it removed [...] Read more.
Halotolerant microorganisms are promising in bio-treatment of hypersaline industrial wastewater. Four halotolerant bacteria strains were isolated from wastewater treatment plant, of which a strain LZH-9 could grow in the presence of up to 14% (w/v) NaCl, and it removed 81.9% chemical oxygen demand (COD) at 96 h after optimization. Whole genome sequencing of Lysinibacillus pakistanensis LZH-9 and comparative genomic analysis revealed metabolic versatility of different species of Lysinibacillus, and abundant genes involved in xenobiotics biodegradation, resistance to toxic compound, and salinity were found in all tested species of Lysinibacillus, in which Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) contributed to the acquisition of many important properties of Lysinibacillus spp. such as toxic compound resistance and osmotic stress resistance as revealed by phylogenetic analyses. Besides, genome wide positive selection analyses revealed seven genes that contained adaptive mutations in Lysinibacillus spp., most of which were multifunctional. Further expression assessment with Codon Adaption Index (CAI) also reflected the high metabolic rate of L. pakistanensis to digest potential carbon or nitrogen sources in organic contaminants, which was closely linked with efficient COD removal ability of strain LZH-9. The high COD removal efficiency and halotolerance as well as genomic evidences suggested that L. pakistanensis LZH-9 was promising in treating hypersaline industrial wastewater. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Microbiology)
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16 pages, 3704 KiB  
Article
Behavior and Mechanism of Cesium Biosorption from Aqueous Solution by Living Synechococcus PCC7002
by Runlan Yu, Hongsheng Chai, Zhaojing Yu, Xueling Wu, Yuandong Liu, Li Shen, Jiaokun Li, Jun Ye, Danchan Liu, Tao Ma, Fengzheng Gao and Weimin Zeng
Microorganisms 2020, 8(4), 491; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8040491 - 30 Mar 2020
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3982
Abstract
Many efforts have focused on the adsorption of metals from contaminated water by microbes. Synechococcus PCC7002, a major marine cyanobacteria, is widely applied to remove metals from the ocean’s photic zone. However, its ability to adsorb cesium (Cs) nuclides has received little attention. [...] Read more.
Many efforts have focused on the adsorption of metals from contaminated water by microbes. Synechococcus PCC7002, a major marine cyanobacteria, is widely applied to remove metals from the ocean’s photic zone. However, its ability to adsorb cesium (Cs) nuclides has received little attention. In this study, the biosorption behavior of Cs(I) from ultrapure distilled water by living Synechococcus PCC7002 was investigated based on kinetic and isotherm studies, and the biosorption mechanism was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry, and three-dimensional excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy. Synechococcus PCC7002 showed extremely high tolerance to Cs ions and its minimal inhibitory concentration was 8.6 g/L. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in Synechococcus PCC7002 played a vital role in this tolerance. The biosorption of Cs by Synechococcus PCC7002 conformed to a Freundlich-type isotherm model and pseudo-second-order kinetics. The binding of Cs(I) was primarily attributed to the extracellular proteins in EPS, with the amino, hydroxyl, and phosphate groups on the cell walls contributing to Cs adsorption. The biosorption of Cs involved two mechanisms: Passive adsorption on the cell surface at low Cs concentrations and active intracellular adsorption at high Cs concentrations. The results demonstrate that the behavior and mechanism of Cs adsorption by Synechococcus PCC7002 differ based on the Cs ions concentration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Microbiology)
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17 pages, 1446 KiB  
Article
Pollution Gradients Altered the Bacterial Community Composition and Stochastic Process of Rural Polluted Ponds
by Xin Tai, Rui Li, Bao Zhang, Hao Yu, Xiao Kong, Zhihui Bai, Ye Deng, Lan Jia and Decai Jin
Microorganisms 2020, 8(2), 311; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8020311 - 24 Feb 2020
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4099
Abstract
Understanding the effects of pollution on ecological communities and the underlying mechanisms that drive them will helpful for selecting a method to mediate polluted ecosystems. Quantifying the relative importance of deterministic and stochastic processes is a very important issue in ecology. However, little [...] Read more.
Understanding the effects of pollution on ecological communities and the underlying mechanisms that drive them will helpful for selecting a method to mediate polluted ecosystems. Quantifying the relative importance of deterministic and stochastic processes is a very important issue in ecology. However, little is known about their effects on the succession of microbial communities in different pollution levels rural ponds. Also, the processes that govern bacterial communities in polluted ponds are poorly understood. In this study, the microbial communities in water and sediment from the ponds were investigated by using the 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing technology. Meanwhile, we used null model analyses based on a taxonomic and phylogenetic metrics approach to test the microbial community assembly processes. Pollution levels were found to significantly alter the community composition and diversity of bacteria. In the sediment samples, the bacterial diversity indices decreased with increasing pollutant levels. Between-community analysis revealed that community assembly processes among water and sediment samples stochastic ratio both gradually decreased with the increased pollution levels, indicating a potential deterministic environmental filtering that is elicited by pollution. Our results identified assemblage drivers of bacterial community is important for improving the efficacies of ecological evaluation and remediation for contaminated freshwater systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Microbiology)
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