Polyphosphate-accumulating Organisms in Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal Process: New Insights from Metagenomics and Metatranscriptomics Approaches

Professor Zhang, Tong   (Principal Investigator (PI))

36

2016-01-01

695788

Polyphosphate-accumulating Organisms in Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal Process: New Insights from Metagenomics and Metatranscriptomics Approaches

EBPR, metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, PAOs, wastewater

Environmental

Engineering (E)

17205715

General Research Fund (GRF)

2015

Completed

1) to study the profiles of different Accumulibacter clades in laboratory reactors and full-scale WWTPs. Laboratory reactors will be fed with different substrates and operated under different conditions. Activated sludge samples will be collected from different full-scale WWTPs with EBPR design; 2) to extract the draft genomes of different Accumulibacter clades based on metagenomic data sets of activated sludge collected from these reactors. Multidimensional coverage differentiation approach will be applied to separate the contigs of different species and extract the draft genome out; 3) to examine the gene expressions of these clades in the two phases of EBPR process. Reactors will be fed with different substrates and operated under different conditions. The combined metatranscriptomics and metagenomics method will be applied to investigate mRNA profiles of the important genes in EBPR process; 4) to uncover the common/shared and the unique metabolic characteristics of the PAOs and GAOs by conducting comparative genomic analysis. The draft genome obtained in the study and those available in the public databases will be put together for comparison on the major metabolic pathways involved in EBPR.