Relative importance of stochastic assembly process of membrane biofilm increased as biofilm aged
byG. Matar, M. Ali, S. Bagchi, S. Nunes, W.-T. Liu, P. Saikaly
Year:2021DOI:10.3389/fmicb.2021.708531
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Frontiers in Microbiology 2021, 12, 708531
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Frontiers in Microbiology 2021, 12, 708531
Abstract
The relative importance of different ecological processes controlling
biofilm community assembly over time on membranes with different surface
characteristics has never been investigated in membrane bioreactors
(MBRs). In this study, five ultrafiltration hollow-fiber membranes –
having identical nominal pore size (0.1μm) but different hydrophobic or
hydrophilic surface characteristics – were operated simultaneously in
the same MBR tank with a constant flux of 10 liters per square meter per
hour (LMH). In parallel, membrane modules operated without permeate
flux (0 LMH) were submerged in the same MBR tank, to investigate the
passive microbial adsorption onto different hydrophobic or hydrophilic
membranes. Samples from the membrane biofilm were collected after 1, 10,
20, and 30days of continuous filtration. The membrane biofilm
microbiome were investigated using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing
from DNA and cDNA samples. Similar beta diversity trends were observed
for both DNA- and cDNA-based analyses. Beta diversity analyses revealed
that the nature of the membrane surface (i.e., hydrophobic vs.
hydrophilic) did not seem to have an effect in shaping the bacterial
community, and a similar biofilm microbiome evolved for all types of
membranes. Similarly, membrane modules operated with and without
permeate flux did not significantly influence alpha and beta diversity
of the membrane biofilm. Nevertheless, different-aged membrane biofilm
samples exhibited significant differences. Proteobacteria was the most
dominant phylum in early-stage membrane biofilm after 1 and 10days of
filtration. Subsequently, the relative reads abundance of the phyla
Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes increased within the membrane biofilm
communities after 20 and 30days of filtration, possibly due to
successional steps that lead to the formation of a relatively aged
biofilm. Our findings indicate distinct membrane biofilm assembly
patterns with different-aged biofilm. Ecological null model analyses
revealed that the assembly of early-stage biofilm community developed
after 1 and 10days of filtration was mainly governed by homogenous
selection. As the biofilm aged (days 20 and 30), stochastic processes
(e.g., ecological drift) started to become important in shaping the
assembly of biofilm community.