Genome-Guided Characterization of Ochrobactrum sp. POC9 Enhancing Sewage Sludge Utilization-Biotechnological Potential and Biosafety Considerations

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 15; no. 7; p. 1501
• Main Authors: Poszytek, Krzysztof, Karczewska-Golec, Joanna, Ciok, Anna, Decewicz, Przemyslaw, Dziurzynski, Mikolaj, Gorecki, Adrian, Jakusz, Grazyna, Krucon, Tomasz, Lomza, Pola, Romaniuk, Krzysztof, Styczynski, Michal, Yang, Zhendong, Drewniak, Lukasz, Dziewit, Lukasz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 16.07.2018; MDPI
• Subjects: Anaerobic digestion; Anaerobiosis; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Bacteria; Bacteria - metabolism; Biodegradation; Biofilms; Biofuels - analysis; Biofuels - microbiology; Biogas; Biosafety; Chemical oxygen demand; Chloramphenicol; Chloromycetin; Contaminants; Content analysis; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Drug resistance; Genes; Genomes; Laboratories; Microorganisms; Ochrobactrum - genetics; Ochrobactrum - metabolism; Organic compounds; Pathogenicity; Pathogens; Proteolysis; Rifampin; Sewage - microbiology; Sewage sludge; Sludge; Sludge digestion; Sludge utilization; Virulence; Waste treatment; Waste Water - microbiology; Wastewater treatment; Wastewater treatment plants; Water treatment; Poland; United States > US; Germany; biogas production; methane; Ochrobactrum sp. POC9; sewage sludge utilization; antibiotic resistance; biosafety
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph15071501

Sewage sludge is an abundant source of microorganisms that are metabolically active against numerous contaminants, and thus possibly useful in environmental biotechnologies. However, amongst the sewage sludge isolates, pathogenic bacteria can potentially be found, and such isolates should therefore be carefully tested before their application. A novel bacterial strain, sp. POC9, was isolated from a sewage sludge sample collected from a wastewater treatment plant. The strain exhibited lipolytic, proteolytic, cellulolytic, and amylolytic activities, which supports its application in biodegradation of complex organic compounds. We demonstrated that bioaugmentation with this strain substantially improved the overall biogas production and methane content during anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge. The POC9 genome content analysis provided a deeper insight into the biotechnological potential of this bacterium and revealed that it is a metalotolerant and a biofilm-producing strain capable of utilizing various toxic compounds. The strain is resistant to rifampicin, chloramphenicol and β-lactams. The corresponding antibiotic resistance genes (including and ) were identified in the POC9 genome. Nevertheless, as only few genes in the POC9 genome might be linked to pathogenicity, and none of those genes is a critical virulence factor found in severe pathogens, the strain appears safe for application in environmental biotechnologies.