Temperature effects on the aerobic metabolism of glycogen-accumulating organisms

✍ Scribed by Carlos M. Lopez-Vazquez; Young-Il Song; Christine M. Hooijmans; Damir Brdjanovic; Moustafa S. Moussa; Huub J. Gijzen; Mark C.M. van Loosdrecht

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 300 KB
• Volume: 101
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0006-3592
• DOI: 10.1002/bit.21892

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Short‐term temperature effects on the aerobic metabolism of glycogen‐accumulating organisms (GAO) were investigated within a temperature range from 10 to 40°C. Candidatus Competibacter Phosphatis, known GAO, were the dominant microorganisms in the enriched culture comprising 93 ± 1% of total bacterial population as indicated by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis. Between 10 and 30°C, the aerobic stoichiometry of GAO was insensitive to temperature changes. Around 30°C, the optimal temperature for most of the aerobic kinetic rates was found. At temperatures higher than 30°C, a decrease on the aerobic stoichiometric yields combined with an increase on the aerobic maintenance requirements were observed. An optimal overall temperature for both anaerobic and aerobic metabolisms of GAO appears to be found around 30°C. Furthermore, within a temperature range (10–30°C) that covers the operating temperature range of most of domestic wastewater treatment systems, GAOs aerobic kinetic rates exhibited a medium degree of dependency on temperature (θ = 1.046–1.090) comparable to that of phosphorus accumulating organisms (PAO). We conclude that GAO do not have metabolic advantages over PAO concerning the effects of temperature on their aerobic metabolism, and competitive advantages are due to anaerobic processes. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2008;101: 295–306. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.