Effects of matrix types on formation and transformation of energy-accumulating substances in enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR).

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) has been widely used in wastewater treatment. In this study, a laboratory investigation of activated sludge in A/O-SBR reactor was conducted to probe the effects of the matrix types on EBPR polyphosphate, intracellular polysaccharide, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) formation and transformation. There is a decrease in anaerobic condition and an increase in aerobic condition for the intracellular glycogen of sodium propionate matrix and sodium acetate matrix. While the intracellular glycogen of glucose matrix shows a decreasing tendency in both anaerobic and aerobic reaction process. Sodium acetate matrix is beneficial to the formation of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), but the content of PHB is relatively small. PHB and poly-3-hydroxyvalerate (PHV) contents in PHA are quite similar in both anaerobic and aerobic reactions with a PHB/PHV ratio of 0.83-1.45. The synthesis of PHV and PHB is mainly in the initial anaerobic stage (0 h - 1 h). Glucose matrix is helpful to the formation of PHV. The content of polymphosphorus shows an increasing tendency in both anaerobic and aerobic stages, suggesting that glucose matrix acclimation of the reactor favors the formation of polymphosphorus.

Morphological variation of Enterobacter sp. BL-2 in acetate-mediated pH environment for excretive production of cationic microbial polyglucosamine biopolymer.

Enterobacter sp. BL-2 excretively produced unique cationic polyglucosamine biopolymer PGB-1 comprised of more than 95% D-glucosamine in an acetate-mediated culture condition. The excretion of the biopolymer PGB- was closely associated with the cellular morphology Enterobacter sp. BL-2, a feature highly dependable on the pH of the medium. The initially formed uneven and irregular surface cells were aggregated into the cell-biopolymer network structure connected by the adhesion modules of the cell-bound biopolymer. The excretive production of the biopolymer PGB-1 coincided with the disruption of the cell-biopolymer network, most actively at the medium pH of 8.0.

Sphaerotilus natans isolated from activated sludge and its production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate).

Sphaerotilus natans is a sheathed bacterium existing in the activated sludge of wastewater treatment plants. It is one of the filamentous bacteria causing the bulking and foaming difficulties of activated sludge. Isolating the strain and culturing it in an axenic environment could not only provide the metabolic knowledge of the strains that would be useful in the development of wastewater treatment methods, but also could enable us to gain an understanding of the mechanism by which poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (poly[3-HB-co-3-HV]) is produced by this strain. This article reports the screening and isolation of the strain from the activated sludge using the Nile blue staining method together with Fourier transform infrared analysis. We investigated the ability of the selected strain to produce poly(3-HB-co-3-HV) copolymer using glucose and peptone, or by adding valeric acid or sodium propionate as precursor. Proper precursor feeding could dramatically enhance its 3HV content in the copolymer P(3HB-co-3HV). By controlling the different feeding times in fed-batch fermentation, different desired copolymers were obtained with 15, 40, and 70% 3HV mole fraction of the copolymer. Polymer properties were analyzed by gas chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, thermo-gravimetry, and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis.

Complement-mediated killing of porphyromonas gingivalis 381 by the immunoglobulin G induced by recombinant 40-kDa outer membrane protein.

Porphyromonas gingivalis has been implicated as an important pathogen in severe adult periodontitis. We have previously cloned a 40-kDa outer membrane protein from P. gingivalis 381 and succeeded in producing sufficient quantities of the recombinant protein (r40-kDa OMP). r40-kDa OMP has been the subject of considerable interest to us as a possible vaccine candidate. To understand the role of anti-r40-kDa OMP antibody in the host defense mechanisms against P. gingivalis, we examined the involvement of a rabbit antibody against r40-kDa OMP (r40-kDa OMP Ab) to an in vitro complement-mediated bactericidal assay for P. gingivalis 381. By measuring the absorbance values in order to assay the surviving bacteria, we found significant anti-P. gingivalis activity of r40-kDa OMP Ab when guinea pig complement was present. Using affinity-purified immunoglobulin G of r40-kDa OMP Ab (IgG-r40-kDa OMP), we demonstrated that the IgG contributed to anti-P. gingivalis activity in the antibody-complement system. This was effected by measuring the incorporation of tritiated thymidine into newly synthesized nucleic acids. Finally, we confirmed the cell lysis of P. gingivalis 381 exposed to IgG-r40-kDa OMP in the presence of complement sources in a radioactive bactericidal assay using bacteria labeled with [14C]sodium acetate. Assembling the data from experiments using component-deficient complements, we concluded that IgG-r40-kDa OMP was related to the killing of P. gingivalis 381 by mediation in the complement activated through both the classical and the alternative pathways.