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Advances in the Application of Molecular Biology to Biological Water Treatment Processes

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Wastewater Treatment and Reuse".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2025) | Viewed by 4369

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Ecology and Biology, Tuscia University, Viterbo, Italy
Interests: microbiome; microbial ecology; virome; microbiota; quantification of target genes; environmental bioengineering; wastewater; aerobic granular sludge; anammox
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Ecology and Biology, Tuscia University, Viterbo, Italy
Interests: biodiversity of microorganisms from extreme environments; microbial commu-nity structure and composition; microbial taxonomy; production of microbial enzymes and metabolites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The increase in consumption of freshwater and the rising contamination of this resource focus on the importance of developing new economically and environmentally sustainable treatments to mitigate the pollution. In this way, ecological engineering based on comprehension of the microbiome and their relationship to the modifying operational conditions is critical for the development and optimization of biological treatment technologies. This Special Issue seeks to highlight the strengths, challenges, and opportunities we face when we apply biological molecular tools to elucidate the processes occurring during the water and wastewater treatment. Culture-independent methods and the application of -omics for the microbial identification provided innovative vision about the metabolic, biochemical, and genetic aspects within bioprocesses for pollutant degradation, such as nutrient and pharmaceutical removal. In fact, nowadays, the operational features of biological water treatment are driven by the optimal conditions for the growth of target microorganisms or microbial consortia able to carry out specific metabolic pathways and enzyme production, among others. Given the novelty of topics, further efforts must be invested to cover the lack of knowledge about the microbial patterns and their functionalities. Therefore, we welcome original articles presenting recent findings, but not limited to, on the following topics:

  • Metagenomics analysis of bioprocesses;
  • Metatranscriptomic exploration in biological applications;
  • Unraveling metabolomics for biomonitoring;
  • Antibiotic-resistant bacteria in water and water treatment;
  • Virome characterization.

Dr. Bárbara Muñoz Palazón
Dr. Susanna Gorrasi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • metagenomics
  • metatranscriptomic
  • metabolomic
  • high-throughput sequencing
  • CRISPR
  • molecular biology
  • biological wastewater treatment
  • biological water treatment
  • ecological engineering

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1340 KiB  
Article
Genomic Analysis of the Uncultured AKYH767 Lineage from a Wastewater Treatment Plant Predicts a Facultatively Anaerobic Heterotrophic Lifestyle and the Ability to Degrade Aromatic Compounds
by Shahjahon Begmatov, Alexey V. Beletsky, Andrey V. Mardanov and Nikolai V. Ravin
Water 2025, 17(7), 1061; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17071061 - 3 Apr 2025
Viewed by 269
Abstract
Microbial communities in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play a crucial role in the decontamination of polluted water. An uncultured order-level lineage AKYH767 of the phylum Bacteroidota has been consistently detected in microbial consortia of activated sludge at WWTPs worldwide, but its functional role [...] Read more.
Microbial communities in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play a crucial role in the decontamination of polluted water. An uncultured order-level lineage AKYH767 of the phylum Bacteroidota has been consistently detected in microbial consortia of activated sludge at WWTPs worldwide, but its functional role remains elusive. Representatives of AKYH767 were also detected in soils and freshwater bodies, which may be their natural reservoirs. Here, we obtained ten high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes, including one closed circular genome, of AKYH767 bacteria from metagenomes of the wastewater and activated sludge and used genomic data to uncover the metabolic potential of these bacteria and to predict their functional role. The cells of the AKYH767 bacteria were inferred to be rod-shaped and non-motile. Genome-based metabolic reconstruction predicted the Embden–Meyerhof pathway, the non-oxidative stage of the pentose phosphate pathway, and the complete tricarboxylic acid cycle. A facultatively anaerobic chemoheterotrophic lifestyle with the capacity to oxidize low organic substrates through aerobic respiration was suggested. Under anaerobic conditions AKYH767 bacteria can perform different steps of denitrification. They have limited capacities to hydrolyze carbohydrates and proteinaceous substrates but can utilize fatty acids. A peculiar property of AKYH767 bacteria is the presence of the phenylacetyl-CoA pathway for the utilization of phenylacetate, and about half of the genomes encoded the benzoate degradation pathway. Apparently, in bioreactors at WWTPs, the AKYH767 bacteria could be involved in the denitrification and biodegradation of aromatic compounds. Based on phylogenetic and genomic analyses, the novel AKYH767 bacterium is proposed to be classified as Candidatus Pollutiaquabacter aromativorans, within the candidate order Pollutiaquabacterales. Full article
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Review

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19 pages, 3274 KiB  
Review
A Review on the Roles of Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPSs) in Wastewater Treatment: Source, Mechanism Study, Bioproducts, Limitations, and Future Challenges
by Hassimi Abu Hasan, Nurul Farhana Mohd Rahim, Jahira Alias, Jamilah Ahmad, Nor Sakinah Mohd Said, Nur Nadhirah Ramli, Junaidah Buhari, Siti Rozaimah Sheikh Abdullah, Ahmad Razi Othman, Hajjar Hartini Wan Jusoh, Hafizan Juahir and Setyo Budi Kurniawan
Water 2024, 16(19), 2812; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16192812 - 2 Oct 2024
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3630
Abstract
Biological treatment is currently a favorable option to treat wastewater due to its environmentally friendly methods and minimal toxic by-products. The majority of biological wastewater treatment uses bacteria as treatment agents, which are known to have excellent capabilities for removing various pollutants. Researchers [...] Read more.
Biological treatment is currently a favorable option to treat wastewater due to its environmentally friendly methods and minimal toxic by-products. The majority of biological wastewater treatment uses bacteria as treatment agents, which are known to have excellent capabilities for removing various pollutants. Researchers have extensively explored the use of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) generated by bacteria in wastewater treatment. This review focuses on the sources of EPSs, factors influencing their production, and their role in wastewater treatment. Bacterial species, nutrient availability, pH, temperatures, and the presence of toxins were mentioned to be the factors influencing EPS production by bacteria in wastewater treatment. Produced EPSs by bacteria may promote the aggregation, adsorption, decolorization, and degradation of pollutants. This review highlights the challenges of discovering new potential bacterial species and complex EPS extraction methods, as well as the importance of mass production for larger-scale applications. Full article
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