Microbial predators cause seasonal fluctuations in wastewater treatment


Date:
July 10, 2023
Source:
University of Cologne
Summary:
Seasonal temperature fluctuations only have an indirect influence
on the bacterial community in wastewater.


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FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The community of microbial predators influences the composition
of the bacterial community in wastewater. This explains seasonal
variations in the microbial community that affect the efficiency of
water treatment. This is the result of a study conducted by Nils Heck
and PD Dr Kenneth Dumack from the University of Cologne's Institute of
Zoology. The study has been published under the title 'Microeukaryotic predators shape the wastewater microbiome' in the journal Water Research.

In wastewater treatment plants, a precisely coordinated interaction
of different microorganisms takes place in order to effectively treat wastewater.

However, a large part of the microorganisms involved in water treatment is still unknown. In addition to the beneficial bacteria that are responsible
for purifying wastewater, many of their predators can also be found in
the bioreactors. However, little is known so far about whether and to
what extent these predators influence wastewater treatment.

Since the introduction of wastewater treatment plants, it has been
known that the seasons influence the bacterial community in wastewater,
and thus also the efficiency of water treatment. But why is this
so? After all, bacteria do not possess an inbuilt sense of time. This
question is by no means trivial, as seasonal changes are the result of a variety of factors. The best-known factors are certainly temperature and
light conditions. However, the chemical composition of the wastewater, precipitation amounts and many other factors also vary with the changes throughout the year.

So which of these factors causes the bacterial community to change over
the seasons? PD Dr Kenneth Dumack, the leader of the study, explained,
"We found that seasonal variation in ambient temperature cannot
explain the variation in the bacterial community. This surprised us,
so we looked for another factor that could explain the variation in
the bacterial community." Nils Heck, first author of the study, added,
"We found that the community of microbial predators, such as amoebae,
ciliates and also rotifers, can explain the composition of the bacterial community to a certain extent. These predators are in turn dependent
on the ambient temperature. Thus, the temperature factor represents an
indirect influence on the bacteria through the community of predators."
The new findings contribute to a better understanding of the so-called
'black box' of wastewater treatment in order to avoid, among other things, health risks that can arise from inadequately treated wastewater.

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Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Cologne. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Nils Heck, Jule Freudenthal, Kenneth Dumack. Microeukaryotic
predators
shape the wastewater microbiome. Water Research, 2023; 242: 120293
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120293 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230710113335.htm

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