Deciphering the role of comammox bacteria in nitrogen removal systems

硝化是一种化学反应过程，在去除城市污水中的有机氮中起着重要作用。硝化也是一个能源密集型的过程。最近发现了一种可以进行硝化作用的单一生物（comammox细菌：完全氨氧化剂），这使得人们开始研究这种细菌是否有助于创造一种低能耗的废水脱氮工艺。管理共生菌对氮去除的影响的能力主要依赖于对其生态学、生理学和工程相关性的基本理解。该研究项目通过开发新的、可扩展的、定量的方法来表征comammox细菌，从而提高了我们对其的理解。通过将最先进的分子、生物信息学和统计方法与实验室和现场实验相结合，项目目标得以实现。该项目对comammox细菌的重要性、生态学和生理学产生了基本的见解，并为利用这种新型生物在废水处理厂中可持续除氮提供了工艺策略。该研究计划与包括本科生、研究生和K-12学生在内的一整套教育推广活动相结合。这些活动包括为本科生和研究生提供生物信息学培训，为来自代表性不足的少数群体的研究人员提供指导，以及为K-12学生提供有关废水处理的模块。确保从废水中去除氮的有效性和可持续性需要对其生物转化途径的详细了解。最近发现的comammox细菌代表了对好氧硝化（氮去除的第一个关键步骤）理解的范式转变。研究小组正在研究comammox细菌在四个关键脱氮过程配置中的生态学、生理学和工程学相关性。该项目的主要目标是开发新的方法来表征复杂微生物群落中comammox细菌的丰度、多样性和活性。更深入地了解工艺和环境条件对共生菌的影响将有助于改进策略，以管理和操纵它们对氮去除的贡献。该项目的结果正在推进我们对复杂硝化群落中新型comammox细菌的作用和相关性的理解。

Nitrification is a chemical reaction process that plays an important role in the removal of organic nitrogen from municipal wastewater. Nitrification is also an energy intensive process. The recent discovery of a single organism (the comammox bacterium: COMplete AMMonia OXidiser) that can perform nitrification, has led to research into whether this bacterium may be useful for creating a less energy intensive process for nitrogen removal from wastewater. The ability to manage comammox impact on nitrogen removal is critically dependent on a fundamental understanding of its ecology, physiology, and engineering relevance. This research project advances our understanding of the comammox bacterium by developing novel, scalable, and quantitative methods for its characterization. The project goals are being accomplished by coupling state-of-the-art molecular, bioinformatics, and statistical methods with laboratory and field experiments. This project is yielding fundamental insights into comammox bacterial importance, ecology, and physiology and informing process strategies to exploit this novel organism for sustainable nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment plants. The research plan is integrated with a comprehensive suite of educational outreach activities involving undergraduate, graduate, and K-12 students. The activities include a blend of bioinformatics training for undergraduate and graduate students, mentoring of researchers from underrepresented minority groups, and modules for K-12 students on wastewater treatment.Ensuring the effectiveness and sustainability of nitrogen removal from wastewater requires a detailed understanding of its biotransformation pathways. The recent discovery of comammox bacterium represents a paradigm shift in the understanding of aerobic nitrification, the first key step in nitrogen removal. The research team is investigating the ecology, physiology, and engineering relevance of the comammox bacterium in four key nitrogen removal process configurations. A primary objective of the project is to develop novel methods to characterize the abundance, diversity, and activity of comammox bacteria in complex microbial communities. A deeper understanding of the impact of process and environmental conditions on comammox bacteria will lead to improved strategies to manage and manipulate their contribution in nitrogen removal. Results of this project are advancing our understanding of the role and relevance of novel comammox bacteria within complex nitrifying communities.