E2.04 Douglas 2019 ReNUWIt Annual Meeting Poster

A variety of different microbes are integral for wastewater treatment. Determining which microbes are performing specific functions can provide insight into treatment performance. At the Mines Park Testbed, an anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR)–anaerobic fixed film reactor (AFFR) system (Figure 1) treats wastewater from student dorms. In conjunction with approaching secondary treatment standards, the reactor produces biogas and limited biosolids and can run with minimal energy input.

Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) amplifies targeted DNA sequences to quantify specific microbes. I am using this technique to quantify the number of methane-producing archaea (methanogens) present within sludge samples from the ABR. My target DNA sequence is mcrA, which encodes the alpha subunit for the methyl-coenzyme M reductase that is a crucial catalyst for the final step in methanogenesis. As a result, mcrA is a good biosignature for methanogens and a great quantification assay for a qPCR- based methanogen study.

Specifically, my research aims to answer these specific questions about the reactor system: How do different methane flow rate correlate to methanogen metabolic rate, temperature, and cell concentration? How does methanogen concentration change with temperature? To date the mcrA concentrations have been compared to reactor parameters such as gaseous methane flow and reactor compartment temperature. Multivariate statistical analysis is now being performed with the qPCR data to determine the strongest correlation within the multidimensional system.