Elucidating the complex hydrolysis and conversion network of xanthan-like extracellular heteropolysaccharides in waste activated sludge fermentation.

ABSTRACT: The hydrolysis of structural extracellular polymeric substances (St-EPS) is considered a major limiting step in the anaerobic fermentation of waste activated sludge (WAS). However, the degradation of heteropolysaccharides, characterized by complex monomers of uronic acids and neutral saccharides in St-EPS, has rarely been reported. In this study, microbial-produced xanthan-like heteropolysaccharides, characterized by a blue filamentary film, were identified. The xanthan-producing bacteria comprised ∼7.2% of total genera present in WAS. An xanthan-degrading consortium (XDC) was enriched in an anaerobic batch reactor. This consortium could degrade Xanthan for over 90% and disrupt the gel structure of xanthan while promoting methane production from WAS by 29%. The xanthan degradation network

SUBMITTER: Zhou CY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11783115 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature