Microbial Symbiosis: A Network towards Biomethanation

• Published in: Trends in microbiology (Regular ed.) Vol. 28; no. 12; pp. 968 - 984
• Main Authors: Saha, Shouvik, Basak, Bikram, Hwang, Jae-Hoon, Salama, El-Sayed, Chatterjee, Pradip K., Jeon, Byong-Hun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2020; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Anaerobic digestion; Anaerobic microorganisms; Anaerobic processes; Anaerobic treatment; Archaea; Bacteria; Digesters; Energy harvesting; Energy recovery; fermentative bacteria; Heterogeneity; Methanogenic archaea; Microbial activity; microbiome; Microbiomes; Microorganisms; organic waste; Organic wastes; Refuse as fuel; Sewage sludge; Sewage treatment; Sludge digestion; Sludge treatment; Substrates; Symbiosis; syntrophic bacteria; Waste to energy; Waste treatment; Wastewater treatment; Wastewater treatment plants; organic waste; methanogenic archaea; symbiosis; anaerobic digestion; microbiome; fermentative bacteria; syntrophic bacteria
• ISSN: 0966-842X; 1878-4380
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2020.03.012

Biomethanation through anaerobic digestion (AD) is the most reliable energy harvesting process to achieve waste-to-energy. Microbial communities, including hydrolytic and fermentative bacteria, syntrophic bacteria, and methanogenic archaea, and their interspecies symbioses allow complex metabolisms for the volumetric reduction of organic waste in AD. However, heterogeneity in organic waste induces community shifts in conventional anaerobic digesters treating sewage sludge at wastewater treatment plants globally. Assessing the metabolic roles of individual microbial species in syntrophic communities remains a challenge, but such information has important implications for microbially enhanced energy recovery. This review focuses on the alterations in digester microbiome and intricate interspecies networks during substrate variation, symbiosis among the populations, and their implications for biomethanation to aid stable operation in real-scale digesters. Anaerobic digestion (AD) involves hydrolysis and acidogenesis, acetogenesis, interspecies electron transfers, and methanogenesis.Heterogeneity in organic waste induces community shifts in digester microbiota during AD.Community shifts affect intricate interspecies symbiotic networks and stable biomethanation.Alterations in deterministic factors influence the microbiota, leading to digester perturbation.