Comprehensive microbiome analysis of eukaryotic and prokaryotic microorganisms to challenge the design of water treatment ecosystems

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K18827
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 22:Civil engineering and related fields
• Research Institution: Nagaoka University of Technology
• Principal Investigator: Hatamoto Masashi 長岡技術科学大学, 工学研究科, 准教授 (20524185)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 平片 悠河 国立研究開発法人産業技術総合研究所, 生命工学領域, 産総研特別研究員 (50887164)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-06-30 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 活性汚泥 / 原生動物 / MBR / 膜 / フィルター / 18S rRNA / 16S rRNA

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To elucidate the structure and function of microbial communities within the wastewater treatment process, this study emphasized the comprehensive analysis of diverse microbial groups, including prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea), protozoa, and fungi. Utilizing activated sludge systems, we developed an analytical methodology based on the size fractionation of microbial communities. Through the application of filter fractionation as a pretreatment step, our investigations revealed intricate details of microbial diversity and functionality. The results demonstrated that traditional DNA extraction and analysis methodologies, which analyzed all microorganisms together, may fail to accurately depict the entire microbial consortium. This discovery advances our understanding of biological treatment processes and paves the way for technological enhancements in this field.

Free Research Field

環境工学、土木環境システム

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、廃水処理プロセスにおける微生物群集の解析を通じて、原核生物、原生動物、真菌類の関係を明らかにすることで、水処理生態系の総合的な挑戦した。サイズ分画を用いた解析手法の開発により、微小な未培養微生物や特有の生物群を詳細に調査することが可能となり、廃水処理技術の効率化に貢献する可能性がある。本研究成果は、他の複合微生物を用いたシステムにも応用可能であり、生物プロセスの技術向上に寄与できる。