Intermittent fasting for microbes: how discontinuous feeding increases functional stability in anaerobic digestion.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Demand-driven biogas production could play an important role for future sustainable energy supply. However, feeding a biogas reactor according to energy demand may lead to organic overloading and, thus, to process failures. To minimize this risk, digesters need to be actively steered towards containing more robust microbial communities. This study focuses on acetogenesis and methanogenesis as crucial process steps for avoiding acidification. We fed lab-scale anaerobic digesters with volatile fatty acids under various feeding regimes and disturbances. The resulting microbial communities were analyzed on DNA and RNA level by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism of the mcrA gene, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, and a [2-¹³C]-acetate assay.

SUBMITTER: Bonk F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6173896 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature