Contribution Of Extracellular Polymeric Substances Research Articles

Microphytobenthos as a source of labile organic matter for denitrifying microbes

Nitrogen loads in natural waters remain elevated in populated and agricultural areas with serious impact on estuarine and coastal ecosystems. Intertidal sediments can play a significant role in attenuating the high nitrogen levels in water via microbial nitrate reduction, in general dominated by denitrification. These heterotrophic processes are heavily mediated by both the quantity and quality of organic matter available. Benthic microalgae were experimentally investigated as organic carbon source for denitrifying microbes in intertidal mudflat sediments from the Seine Estuary (France). Dry microphytobenthos (including algae and their extracellular polymeric substances) were added to sediments and nitrate reduction rates were monitored over a two-week period using anoxic controlled flow-through reactor approach. Our results show that microphytobenthos addition resulted in significantly higher nitrate reduction (67–332% increase), highly related to the added amount of microphytobenthos. Moreover, increase of the low molecular weight carbohydrates consumption (11–39%) highlight the measurable contribution of extracellular polymeric substances to the carbon consumption during nitrate reduction. The addition of microphytobenthos increased the abundance of nitrite reductase genes, especially those encoding the nirS gene (43–152% increase) while nitrous oxide reductase genes (nosZ gene) remained constant. Microphytobenthos appeared to favor complete denitrification as suggested by an increase in nirS and a decrease in clade II nosZ gene copy numbers. This study confirms experimentally the assumption that microbes use microalgae and particularly labile extracellular polymeric substances as a carbon substrate for nitrate reduction. These results reinforce the impact played by microphytobenthos in intertidal mudflats by highlighting their role on denitrifying microbes and nitrate removal from water.

Contribution of extracellular polymeric substances and microbial community on the safety of drinking water quality: By mean of Cu/activated carbon biofiltration

Change in water quality was investigated with laboratory-scale ozone-biological activated carbon filters using copper-modified granular activated carbon (Cu/GAC) and unmodified granular activated carbon (GAC). In the first seven days of the experimental period, Cu/GAC removed organic matter more efficiently owing to its enhanced adsorption capacity. As the running time increased, the amount of disinfection by-products (DBPs), dissolved organic carbon, and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) increased sharply in the effluent of the Cu/GAC filter (CCW). More importantly, the EPS suspended in the CCW exhibited weaker flocculating efficiency and hydrophobicity, causing more active chemical reactions between chlorine and EPS substances. The copper species significantly limited the microbial biomass (0.01 nmol/L adenosine triphosphate) but stimulated the secretion of significant amounts of EPS by microorganisms for self-protection. Furthermore, the microbial community in the bulk water was successfully shaped by Cu/GAC, resulting in a continuous supply of EPS-derived DBP precursors and a sharp rise in chlorine consumption in the downstream drinking water distribution. Therefore, use of modified GAC materials, similar to Cu/GAC, as carrier materials for biological activated carbon (BAC) treatment remains controversial, despite enhanced pollutant adsorption capacity. This is the first study to reveal the mechanism of BAC-modified materials for water quality stability. The study potentially contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the effects of biofilm transformation and microbial community succession on drinking water quality. These results showed that tap water safety risks could be reduced by improving BAC pretreatment in drinking water treatment plants.

Methods for quantification of biosorption in high-rate activated sludge systems

The fundamental mechanism behind biosorption to recover carbon from wastewater through high-rate activated sludge (HRAS) system is insufficiently studied. The most accepted method of quantifying biosorption capacity of activated sludge depends on higher settling velocity solids. As HRAS had different settling characteristics and in addition, raw wastewater fed to the HRAS system contained approximately 55% settleable organics, the conventional biosorption capacity test was not capable of accurately defining biosorption. Thus, we studied ex-situ aerobic yield as an alternative approach for determination of biosorption in batch systems. However this approach similarly to biosorption capacity was not sensitive enough to quantify differences between HRAS types, potentially due to enhanced storage mechanisms under the feast-famine approach. A viable method to determine biosorption in the batch system was based on measurement of ex-situ oxygen uptake rate (OUR) of HRAS over 40h and the biosorption yield was considered as the area underneath the OUR curve normalized for solids concentration. In addition, in-situ based biosorption quantification was proposed in this study based on detailed measurement of carbon mass balances including contribution of extracellular polymeric substances. A clear relationship between biosorption yield and in-situ biosorption with carbon mass-balance, carbon redirection and solids retention time of HRAS systems was observed suggesting two viable methods for quantification of biosorption.

Extracellular Polymeric Substances from a Fungus Are More Effective than Those from a Bacterium in Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Biodegradation

To investigate the differential contribution of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) degradation by fungi and bacteria, the PAH-degrading ability and characteristics of EPS from the bacterium Mycobacterium gilvum SN12 and the fungus Mucor mucedo were compared. The fungus degraded 11% more pyrene and 21% more benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) than the bacterium. The biodegradation of pyrene and B[a]P increased after EPS were introduced into the PAH degradation solution, and 5.0% more pyrene and 4.5% more B[a]P were achieved for the added EPS from the fungal compared with the bacterial isolate. The comparison of two EPS indicated that the amount of protein and carbohydrate in EPS from the fungus was greater than that from the bacterium and was especially enriched for tryptophan, which is positively related to the increase of PAH biodegradation by fungal EPS. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) further revealed that higher molecular weight (HMW) of proteins over 200 kDa only existed in EPS from the fungus, and the polymorphism of proteins in EPS from the fungus was more abundant than that from the bacterium. The HMW proteins with stronger hydrophobicity in the fungal EPS also enabled the fungus to absorb more PAH than the bacterium. The results demonstrated that the pronounced differences in the characteristics of EPS from the fungal and the bacterial sources are responsible for the differential effects on PAH biodegradation.

Dynamic Membrane Formation in Anaerobic Dynamic Membrane Bioreactors: Role of Extracellular Polymeric Substances.

Dynamic membrane (DM) formation in dynamic membrane bioreactors plays an important role in achieving efficient solid-liquid separation. In order to study the contribution of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) to DM formation in anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactor (AnDMBR) processes, EPS extraction from and re-addition to bulk sludge were carried out in short-term filtration tests. DM formation behaviors could be well simulated by cake filtration model, and sludge with EPS re-addition showed the highest resistance coefficient, followed by sludge after EPS extraction. The DM layers exhibited a higher resistance and a lower porosity for the sludge sample after EPS extraction and for the sludge with EPS re-addition. Particle size of sludge flocs decreased after EPS extraction, and changed little with EPS re-addition, which was confirmed by interaction energy analysis. Further investigations by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) analysis and batch tests suggested that the removal of in-situ EPS stimulated release of soluble EPS, and re-added EPS were present as soluble EPS rather than bound EPS, which thus improved the formation of DM. The present work revealed the role of EPS in anaerobic DM formation, and could facilitate the operation of AnDMBR processes.

A positive finite-difference model in the computational simulation of complex biological film models

In this work, we design a linear, two-step, finite-difference method to approximate the solutions of a biological system that describes the interaction between a microbial colony and a surrounding substrate. The model is a system of four partial differential equations with nonlinear diffusion and reaction, and the colony is formed by an active portion, an inert component and the contribution of extracellular polymeric substances. In this work, we extend the computational approach proposed by Eberl and Demaret [A finite difference scheme for a degenerated diffusion equation arising in microbial ecology, Electr. J. Differ. Equ. 15 (2007) pp. 77–95], in order to design a numerical technique to approximate the solutions of a more complicated model proposed in the literature. As we will see in this work, this approach guarantees that positive and bounded initial solutions will evolve uniquely into positive and bounded, new approximations. We provide numerical simulations to evince the preservation of the positive character of solutions.

Contribution of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and their subfractions to the sludge aggregation in membrane bioreactor coupled with worm reactor

This study focused on the effect of predated sludge recycle on the contribution of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) and their subfractions to sludge aggregation in combined MBR system. It was observed that aggregation abilities of sludge samples were decreased by worm predation. Furthermore, worm predation enhanced the energy barriers and weakened the secondary energy minimum in the interaction energy profiles of slime, loosely bound EPS (LB-EPS) and tightly bound EPS (TB-EPS). Further investigations demonstrated that the content decrease and structural change of different EPS fractions induced by worm predation may be the reason for the decreased aggregation of sludge. Concomitantly, the adsorption tests and atomic force microscopy observation confirmed that the worm predation decreased the adsorption of slime, LB-EPS and TB-EPS on membrane. This would indicate the worm predation could keep an optimum EPS level for which floc structure was maintained and the fouling propensity of mixed liquid was reduced.

Contribution of Extracellular Polymeric Substances from Shewanella sp. HRCR-1 Biofilms to U(VI) Immobilization

The goal of this study was to quantify the contribution of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) to U(VI) immobilization by Shewanella sp. HRCR-1. Through comparison of U(VI) immobilization using cells with bound EPS (bEPS) and cells with minimal EPS, we show that (i) bEPS from Shewanella sp. HRCR-1 biofilms contribute significantly to U(VI) immobilization, especially at low initial U(VI) concentrations, through both sorption and reduction; (ii) bEPS can be considered a functional extension of the cells for U(VI) immobilization and they likely play more important roles at lower initial U(VI) concentrations; and (iii) the U(VI) reduction efficiency is dependent upon the initial U(VI) concentration and decreases at lower concentrations. To quantify the relative contributions of sorption and reduction to U(VI) immobilization by EPS fractions, we isolated loosely associated EPS (laEPS) and bEPS from Shewanella sp. HRCR-1 biofilms grown in a hollow fiber membrane biofilm reactor and tested their reactivity with U(VI). We found that, when reduced, the isolated cell-free EPS fractions could reduce U(VI). Polysaccharides in the EPS likely contributed to U(VI) sorption and dominated the reactivity of laEPS, while redox active components (e.g., outer membrane c-type cytochromes), especially in bEPS, possibly facilitated U(VI) reduction.

Contribution of Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS) to the Sludge Aggregation

The contribution of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), including loosely bound EPS (LB-EPS) and tightly bound EPS (TB-EPS), to the aggregation of both aerobic and anaerobic sludge is explored using the extended DLVO theory. It is observed that the aggregation abilities of both sludge samples decrease with the extraction of LB-EPS and TB-EPS, implying the crucial roles of EPS in sludge aggregation. Furthermore, through analyzing the interaction energy curves of sludge before and after the EPS extraction using the extended DLVO theory, it is found that both LB-EPS and TB-EPS have a substantial contribution to the sludge aggregation. The interaction energy of LB-EPS is always negative, suggesting that the LB-EPS always display a positive effect on the sludge aggregation. On the other hand, the interaction energy of TB-EPS is not always negative, depending on the separation distance between sludge cells. These results imply that the LB-EPS and TB-EPS have different contributions to the sludge aggregation.

Contribution of Extracellular Polymeric Substances on Representative Gram Negative and Gram Positive Bacterial Deposition in Porous Media

The significance of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) on cell transport and retained bacteria profiles in packed porous media (quartz sand) was examined by direct comparison of the overall deposition kinetics and retained profiles of untreated bacteria (with EPS) versus those of treated cells (without EPS) from the same cell type. Four representative cell types, Pseudomonas sp. QG6 (gram-negative, motile), mutant Escherichia coli BL21 (gram-negative, nonmotile), Bacillus subtilis (gram-positive, motile), and Rhodococcus sp. QL2 (gram-positive, nonmotile), were employed to systematically determine the influence of EPS on cell transport and deposition behavior. Packed column experiments were conducted for the untreated and treated cells in both NaCl (four ionic strength ranging from 2.5 mM to 20 mM) and CaCl(2) (5 mM) solutions at pH 6.0. The breakthrough plateaus of untreated bacteria were lower than those of treated bacteria for all four cell types under all examined conditions (in both NaCl and CaCl(2) solutions), indicating that the presence of EPS on cell surfaces enhanced cell deposition in porous media regardless of cell type and motility. Retained profiles of both untreated and treated cells for all four cell types deviated from classic filtration theory (log-linear decreases). However, the degree of deviation was greater for all four untreated cells, indicating that the presence of EPS on cell surfaces increased the deviation of retained profiles from classic filtration theory. Elution experiments demonstrated that neither untreated nor treated cells preferentially deposited in secondary energy minima. Furthermore, the release of previously deposited cells in the secondary energy minima did not change the shape of retained cell profiles, indicating that deposition in secondary energy minima did not produce the observed deviations of retained profiles from classic filtration theory.

Equilibrium, thermodynamics and mechanisms of Ni 2+ biosorption by aerobic granules

Aerobic granules with a mean size of 1 mm were used as biosorbent to remove soluble nickel ion from aqueous solution. Investigation of the mechanisms of Ni 2+ biosorption by aerobic granules showed that Ni 2+ biosorption was associated with a significant release of Ca 2+ ion, e.g., 1 meq of Ni 2+ adsorbed would result in a release of 0.68 meq of Ca 2+. Compared to fresh aerobic granules, analysis by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) further revealed that no new crystal was formed in the aerobic granules after Ni 2+ biosorption. These seem to imply that a chemical precipitation mechanism would not be largely involved in the Ni 2+ biosorption by aerobic granules. The contribution of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) to the Ni 2+ biosorption by aerobic granules was also examined. It was found that the EPS-associated Ni 2+ biosorption by aerobic granules only accounted for about 14.2% of the total Ni 2+ removed. The biosorption isotherm equation previously derived from a thermodynamic principle was applied to this study and it can provide a satisfactory description for Ni 2+ biosorption by aerobic granules at various temperatures. It was found that the equilibrium constants of the Ni 2+ biosorption increased with increase of temperature from 25 to 55 °C, i.e., the biosorption of Ni 2+ by aerobic granules is favored at high temperature. The thermodynamic parameters (Δ G°, Δ H° and Δ S°) were also determined, and it was found that the Ni 2+ biosorption by aerobic granules was an endothermic process. Meanwhile, the energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis indicated that Ni 2+ ion could penetrate into the core of the aerobic granule, and the distribution of the adsorbed Ni 2+ in the aerobic granule seemed uniform.