Processes and Community Structure in Microbial Biofilms of the River Elbe

Processes and Community Structure in Microbial Biofilms of the River Elbe PDF Author: Frank Kloep
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Processes and Community Structure in Microbial Biofilms of the River Elbe

Processes and Community Structure in Microbial Biofilms of the River Elbe PDF Author: Frank Kloep
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Understanding the Impacts of Organic Matter on Microbial Biofilms in Engineered Drinking Water Systems

Understanding the Impacts of Organic Matter on Microbial Biofilms in Engineered Drinking Water Systems PDF Author: Lei Li
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Algal blooms
Languages : en
Pages : 185

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Book Description
The increasing occurrence and severity of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABs) in freshwater have continuously challenged the safe drinking water supply. During HAB, public attention mainly focuses on the cyanotoxins, which associated with health issues, while HAB also generated massive amounts of algal cells, increasing the loading of algal organic matter (AOM) in the drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs). AOM is an algae-derived autochthonous natural organic matter (NOM), which contains high fraction of hydrophilic and nitrogenous compounds. Conventional treatment processes, comprised of coagulation, sedimentation, and granular media filtration, are known to be ineffective in completely removing NOM, including AOM [1, 2]. Although ozone has been widely adopted by water utilities to break down complex organic compounds and reduce DBP formation, ozonation practices can adversely increase concentrations of assimilable organic carbon (AOC), which in turn can be rapidly utilized and support biofilm growth in downstream filters and drinking water distribution systems [3, 4]. Currently, remain largely unknown for the growth of biofilms under the impacts of different NOM, including AOM in the filters and drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs). Therefore, the main research goal of this study is to investigate the impacts of organic matter on microbial biofilms in engineered drinking water systems (EDWSs). Specifically, the first objective of this study aimed to examine how the assembly processes and their associated factors (e.g., influent characteristics, biological interactions) drive the temporal dynamics of bacterial communities in full-scale BAC filters, which underwent ozone implementation to better handle the adverse effects of HABs. The obtained results revealed that along with the increase of bacterial taxonomic richness and evenness, stochastic processes became more crucial to determine the bacterial community assembly in the summer and autumn after ozone implementation. Moreover, their corresponding networks possessed simple network structures with lower modularity than other seasons, which implied lesser biological interactions among bacterial populations. Among the monitored physiochemical properties of filter influents, temperature and nutrient bioavailability (i.e., AOC concentrations) as well as biological interactions can be crucial drivers that impact the balance between these two processes and the taxonomic diversity of bacterial communities in BAC filters. The second objective of this study was to examine the effects of two widely present NOM, treated AOM and humic substances (HS), on biofilm development under unchlorinated DWDS conditions. Although great efforts have been made to remove NOM in DWTPs, remaining NOM still exists in the filter effluent and subsequently enter DWDSs. This unremoved NOM can support the growth of microbial biofilms in DWDS. Thus, the impact of AOM and HS on the formation, chemical composition, and microbial community structures of biofilms was evaluated. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing analyses revealed that the bacterial communities in biofilms were clustered with the organic matter types in bulk water, where Family Comamonadaceae was the most dominant but showed different temporal dynamics depending on the organic matter characteristics in bulk water. Higher diversity was observed in the biofilms grown in AOM-impacted bulk water (BFAOM) than biofilms grown in HS-impacted (BFHS) and R2A-impacted bulk water (BFR2A) as the biofilms matured. In addition, some taxa (e.g., Rhodobacteraceae, and Sphingomonadaceae) were enriched in BFAOM compared to BFHS and BFR2A. The biofilm image analysis results indicated that compared to BFHS, BFAOM and BFR2A had relatively thinner and heterogeneous physical structures with lower amounts of cell biomass, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), and higher EPS protein/polysaccharide ratios. The third objective of this study was to elucidate how different types of organic matter, including AOM and HS, affect biomolecular compositions of biofilms and subsequent DBP formation. In order to control biofilm formation in DWDS, water utilities apply disinfectants such as chlorine or monochloramines. However, these applied disinfectants can lead to the formation of toxic DBPs due to the presence of organic-rich substances within biofilms. Therefore, the impact of organic matter composition on biomulecular composition of biofilms and their correlations with DBP formation were explored. The obtained results indicated that all biofilm samples comprised mostly of protein-like components (~90%), and to a lesser extent, humic-like components (~10%). Strong correlations were generally found between tryptophan-like substances and the studied DBP formation (R2min ≥ 0.76, P

Aquatic Ecosystems and Microbial Biofilms

Aquatic Ecosystems and Microbial Biofilms PDF Author: Siddhardha Busi
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1040133061
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 319

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Book Description
Aquatic Ecosystems and Microbial Biofilms: Significance, Dynamics, Prevention and Control provides a systematic introduction and review of state-of-the-art information on microbial biofilms in aquatic ecosystems and their control. The book is designed and developed to understand the microbial biofilms in aquatic ecosystems, their role, and the control strategies. The contents of the book are well discussed to get state-of-art knowledge on various topics such as the role of biofilms in marine ecosystems, microbial biofilms, and drinking water systems, biofilms in biofouling and biocorrosion, beneficial aspects of biofilms such as biogeochemical cycling, wastewater treatment, and in biodeterioration of organic materials. This book also provides comprehensive knowledge and in-depth scientific information on the role of biofilms and their contribution to antibiotic resistance, and also advanced technologies to understand biofilms such as metagenomics. The book offers comprehensive coverage of the most essential topics, including: Microbial biofilms in aquatic ecosystems. New horizons to understand the role of biofilms in biofouling and corrosion and their control measures. Beneficial role of aquatic biofilms such as in biogeochemical cycling,wastewater treatment, and biodeterioration of organic materials. Various strategies to collaborate interdisciplinary schemes worldwide to design and develop new methods for cleaner drinking water, and information on advanced techniques such as metagenomics to understand the diversity and functional role of aquatic biofilms. This book serves as a reference book for scientific investigators who would like to study biofilms in aquatic ecosystems, as well as researchers developing methodology in this field to study biofilm formation in aquatic ecosystems, their advantages and disadvantages, and control strategies.

The Micro-ecology of Stream Biofilm Dynamics: Environmental Drivers, Successional Processes, and Forensic Applications

The Micro-ecology of Stream Biofilm Dynamics: Environmental Drivers, Successional Processes, and Forensic Applications PDF Author: Jennifer M. Lang
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 205

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Book Description
Microbial activity has an essential role in ecosystem processes, and in stream ecosystems, biofilms are the base of the food web that is fueled by photosynthesis and they are integral to nutrient processing. Stream biofilms are microbial communities of algae, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa encased in an extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) (molecules secreted by the microbes) that are attached to a substrate (e.g. rocks, leaves) in an aqueous environment. The substrate categorizes the biofilm, and organic matter like leaves and carrion such as salmon carcasses are important substrates for nutrient dynamics. In special instances, human remains may be deposited into streams and colonized by biofilms; therefore, assessing these biofilms can have direct application to the forensic sciences. Stream ecologists have extensively investigated how environmental factors influence algal community composition, while environmental microbiologists have focused on the role of bacterial communities in nutrient dynamics. My dissertation marries these two approaches by considering biofilm communities as a functioning ecosystem and uses ecological theory as a framework to understand the dynamics of this micro-ecosystem. This framework uses aspects from landscape ecology within a larger context of community ecology to explain how the development of biofilm communities is altered by environmental factors. In addition, this framework was used to investigate biofilm development on carrion (dead animal) in a forensic science context.

Microbial Community Analysis

Microbial Community Analysis PDF Author: Thomas E. Cloete
Publisher: IWA Publishing
ISBN: 9781900222020
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 108

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Book Description
Microbial Community Analysis surveys the vast amount of theoretical and practical knowledge on the design of biological treatment systems. It describes the different types of biological wastewater systems, the role of microbial diversity in these systems, and how this affects design and operation, methods for studying microbial community dynamics, and mathematical modelling of these systems. Contents Biological methods for the treatment of wastewaters Biodiversity and microbial interactions in the biodegradation of organic compounds Microbial population dynamics in biological wastewater treatment plants Molecular techniques for determining microbial community structures in activated sludge Principles in the modelling of biological wastewater treatment plants Practical considerations for the design of biological wastewater treatment systems Scientific and Technical Report No.5

Biofilm Dynamics in Drinking Water Biofiltration & Downstream Nanofiltration Biofouling

Biofilm Dynamics in Drinking Water Biofiltration & Downstream Nanofiltration Biofouling PDF Author: Paul Markin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Natural organic matter (NOM) is a concern in many surface waters and must be removed by water treatment processes for cost-effective production of safe and aesthetically pleasing drinking water. Biological filtration is an appealing NOM removal method due to its simplicity and low maintenance requirements. Biofiltration is not traditionally used in water treatment headworks, however biofiltration without pretreatment (BFwp) breaks with common practice to function as both particle and biodegradable NOM removal as a 1st stage process. BFwp makes use of indigenous microbial populations embedded in a biofilm matrix to remove biodegradable organic matter (BOM) from raw source water. This configuration is a viable pretreatment strategy for both low and high pressure membrane filtration due to its ability to remove both particulate and soluble BOM, thereby mitigating biofouling on the membrane surface. Biofouling has been described as the "Achille's heel" of membrane filtration (Flemming et al., 1997) due to its effects of increased operational cost and shortened membrane life-span. Therefore, a targeted effort is needed to understand how biofilter ecology affects performance both in the biofilter and downstream in membrane filtration units. Two parallel pilot scale BFwp units with dual-media were used in the current study for a seasonal characterisation of biofilter microbial dynamics and performance. Refurbishment of the biofilter pilot plant was performed by Dr. Ahmed Elhadidy and Brad Wilson, former students of the NSERC chair in water treatment. The current seasonal characterization spanned 14 months and made use of both new sample material as well as archived samples from Dr. Elhadidy. Biofilter media biomass was assessed using both adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP) and flow cytometric methods. Total protein, carbohydrate and free DNA of the media biofilm extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were determined. Polymerase Chain Reaction - Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) was used to create microbial community fingerprint profiles of the biofilter feed and media. It was found that source water quality played a significant role in shaping BFwp microbial communities. Multivariate analysis of the PCR-DGGE fingerprints showed a media biofilm community shift occurred in response to high ammonia, high low molecular weight acids (LMW-acids) concentrations in the raw feed during January-February 2015. This low temperature, high ammonia and LMW-acids induced shift was accompanied by a rise in media biomass and EPS. Lower DOC and biopolymer removals were observed during the January-February 2015 community shift, however this was attributed largely to the effects which lower feed temperatures have on microbial biodegradation kinetics. No differences were found in community structures between media types, depths, or biofilter columns, however source water exhibited lower diversities and markedly different community structure than those of media biofilms. It was determined that media diversity and richness were high and did not exhibit seasonal fluctuations. As such these parameters could not be reliably related to biofilter DOC and biopolymer removal performance. In his investigation of biofiltration as a pretreatment for nanofiltration (NF), Dr. Elhadidy archived samples for molecular analysis that were used in the current study. PCR-DGGE was performed on extracted DNA from source water, media, and fouled membrane samples for bacteria, archaea, and fungi. Archaea were present in all samples, however their abundance was roughly 1000 fold less than bacteria, which made it difficult to assess their significance in the biofiltration and NF processes. Fungi were only screened for in one media and one source water sample during method development; both samples were positive. Archaeal community organisation was similar to that of bacteria during the autumn BF-NF experiment, however no community organisation was discernible during the winter experiment. Bacterial community structures from the autumn experiment showed that fouled NF membranes fed raw water clustered together with biofilter media, indicating feed water rather than substrate material influences bacterial community organisation. Comparatively, NF membranes fed with biofilter effluent produced a cluster of drastically dissimilar bacterial communities, which corresponded with improved flux and reduced biofoulant biomass. The microbial communities of biofiltration exhibited dynamic responses to feed water quality in both the seasonal and the nanofiltration studies. Biomass and EPS were highly correlated and their levels changed in response to community shifts, which in the seasonal and nanofiltration studies, were precipitated by changes in feed ammonia and BOM.

Microbial Biofilms in Bioremediation and Wastewater Treatment

Microbial Biofilms in Bioremediation and Wastewater Treatment PDF Author: Y.V. Nancharaiah
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1351857320
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
Biofilms represent the natural living style of microbial communities and play a pivotal role in biogeochemical cycles and natural attenuation. Biofilms can be engineered for biodegradation and biotransformation of organic and inorganic contaminants, for both in situ bioremediation and ex situ treatment in bioreactors. This book focuses on microbial biofilms and their potential technological applications for sustainable development. It covers recent advances in biofilm technologies for contaminant remediation coupled to recovery of resources and serves as a complete reference on the science and technology behind biofilm mediated bioremediation and wastewater treatment.

Biofilms

Biofilms PDF Author: Hans-Curt Flemming
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 9781566768696
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
Until now, techniques for studying biofilms- the cellular colonies that live in drinking water systems, wastewater operations, even ground and surface water- have been limited. Yet during the last decade, biofilms have become a critical element in water quality preservation systems, a key component of wastewater treatment biological reactions and the subject of extensive microbiological inquiry. An understanding of biofilm development, structure and dynamics is one condition for improving water supplies and for addressing technical problems such as biofouling, corrosion and bioweathering. Biofilms: Investigative Methods and Applications provides the first in-depth assessment of current and experimental ways to study biofilms, both in sample form and in situ. It shows how sensors, microscopy, lasers, and calorimetry, among other tools, can be used to obtain data on the morphology and metabolism of biofilms. This text is the first to organize and examine the best methods for investigating biofilms. It covers culture-based methods and emerging nondestructive techniques. It also shows how they can be used to characterize biofilms in a variety of manmade settings, such as sewers, wastewater plants, and drinking water distribution systems, as well as in karsts and groundwater sources. In clarifying the way biofilms are studied, the book offers new insights into these living films. It also applies inquiry techniques to the many problems confronting the environmental specialist-corrosion control, biofouling, and the improvement of fixed reactors in wastewater treatment. At the same time it explains technologies for the controlled growth of biofilms and shows how biofilms can be effectively monitored and subjected to quantitative analysis. The technical information in Biofilms: Investigative Methods and Applications is designed to be of use to engineers and researchers and to be helpful in the generation of electronic data.

Microbial Ecology of Phototrophic Biofilms

Microbial Ecology of Phototrophic Biofilms PDF Author: Guus Roeselers
Publisher: Guus Roeselers
ISBN: 9090221646
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 120

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Book Description
Biofilms are layered structures of microbial cells and an extracellular matrix of polymeric substances, associated with surfaces and interfaces. Biofilms trap nutrients for growth of the enclosed microbial community and help prevent detachment of cells from surfaces in flowing systems. Phototrophic biofilms can best be defined as surface attached microbial communities mainly driven by light as the energy source with a photosynthesizing component clearly present. Eukaryotic algae and cyanobacteria generate energy and reduce carbon dioxide, providing organic substrates and oxygen. The photosynthetic activity fuels processes and conversions in the total biofilm community, including the heterotrophic fraction. This thesis starts with a brief introduction in the ecology of phototrophic biofilms and discusses their actual and potential applications in wastewater treatment, bioremediation, fish-feed production, biohydrogen production, and soil improvement and their role in biofouling. The next chapter describes the diversity of phototrophic bacteria in hot spring microbial mats found on the east coast of Greenland. In this study we utilized a polyphasic approach using a combination of isolation techniques, microscopic observation of morphological features, and cultivation-independent molecular methods. We observed a relationship between the cyanobacterial community composition and the in situ temperatures of different microbial mat parts. Chapter 4 focuses on the successional changes in community composition of freshwater phototrophic biofilms growing under different light intensities. Our results suggest that surface colonization by heterotrophic pioneers facilitates the development of phototrophic biofilms. In Chapter 5 we compared the community composition of phototrophic biofilms cultivated in three microcosm systems operated under identical conditions but placed in different laboratories. Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of both 16S and 18S rRNA gene fragments showed that the communities developed differently in terms of species richness and community composition. Chapter 6 demonstrates that nifD gene sequences, coding for a nitrogenase subunit, can be used to detect and identify diazotrophic cyanobacteria in natural communities. PCR products generated using primers homologous to conserved regions in the cyanobacterial nifD genes were subjected to DGGE and clone library analysis in order to determine the genetic diversity of diazotrophic cyanobacteria in environmental samples. In the last chapter we describe the development of PCR primers targeting conserved regions within the cyanobacterial hupS gene family. This gene is involved in the hydrogen metabolism of diazotrophic microorganisms. We analyzed hupS diversity and transcription in cultivated phototrophic biofilms by the direct retrieval and analysis of mRNA that was reverse transcribed, amplified with hupS specific primers, and cloned. Overall, the community composition and species richness of phototrophic biofilms was shown to be highly variable. Cultivation-independent molecular methods proved very useful to study diversity and function in phototrophic biofilms.

Microbial Ecology of Lake Plußsee

Microbial Ecology of Lake Plußsee PDF Author: Jürgen Overbeck
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461226066
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
Lake Plußsee is a small eutrophic kettle lake in northern Germany. Because it is sheltered and has no inflow from rivers, the Plußsee exhibits stable stratification and is especially suitable for limnological studies. This book presents the results of extensive research conducted on the ecophysiology of microorganisms - principally bacteria - at the Plußsee over the past several decades. It begins with three chapters on the general limnological state of the lake: physical factors, inorganic nutrients, plankton composition and succession, fish fauna, etc. These chapters are followed by discussions of dissolved organic matter and photosynthetic production of organic matter by phytoplankton. The remainder of the book addresses the dynamics of structure, function and metabolism of the microorganisms in the Plußsee.