TY - JOUR
T1 - ASSR-mediated sludge yield reduction couples deterministic enrichment of Nitrospira with metabolic resource partitioning
AU - Deng, Huanzhong
AU - Yang, Junling
AU - Li, Ruohong
AU - Li, Kewen
AU - Lu, Hui
AU - Lin, Bing
AU - Xu, Xingquan
AU - Liao, Jiajun
AU - Ye, Congrong
AU - Deng, Jie
AU - Wu, Bo
AU - Sun, Lianpeng
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2026/2/15
Y1 - 2026/2/15
N2 - The anaerobic side-stream reactor (ASSR) process offers a microbiome-driven strategy for sustainable wastewater treatment, yet the ecological mechanisms governing its sludge yield reduction efficiency remain unresolved. Here, we demonstrate that a pilot-scale anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (AAO) system with integrated anaerobic side-stream reactor (ASSR) (designated AAO-ASSR/SR) reduced sludge production by 43.6 % compared to a conventional AAO system (designated AAO/CK), while maintaining effluent quality. Through integrated multi-omics and ecological modeling, we revealed the core microbiome-driven mechanism for ASSR-mediated sludge yield reduction. This mechanism is characterized by three key features: (1) enhanced microbial stability via cooperative networks, (2) deterministic assembly selecting slow-growing keystone taxa (e.g., Nitrospira, 18.6 % abundance in SR), and (3) metabolic resource partitioning from biomass synthesis to amino acid cross-feeding. Functional metagenomics revealed that Nitrospira (phylum Nitrospirota, comprising >99 % Nitrospira) and Novosphingobium (phylum Proteobacteria) mediated increased amino acid metabolism and reduced ATP biosynthesis in SR, contrasting with Bacteroidota-dominated biomass synthesis in CK through enhanced protein, nucleotide metabolism and ATP biosynthesis. By coupling deterministic microbial assembly with functional repartitioning, this work contributes to establish a design principle for targeted microbiome engineering in low-sludge systems, advancing sustainable wastewater management through ecological optimization of microbial resource allocation.
AB - The anaerobic side-stream reactor (ASSR) process offers a microbiome-driven strategy for sustainable wastewater treatment, yet the ecological mechanisms governing its sludge yield reduction efficiency remain unresolved. Here, we demonstrate that a pilot-scale anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (AAO) system with integrated anaerobic side-stream reactor (ASSR) (designated AAO-ASSR/SR) reduced sludge production by 43.6 % compared to a conventional AAO system (designated AAO/CK), while maintaining effluent quality. Through integrated multi-omics and ecological modeling, we revealed the core microbiome-driven mechanism for ASSR-mediated sludge yield reduction. This mechanism is characterized by three key features: (1) enhanced microbial stability via cooperative networks, (2) deterministic assembly selecting slow-growing keystone taxa (e.g., Nitrospira, 18.6 % abundance in SR), and (3) metabolic resource partitioning from biomass synthesis to amino acid cross-feeding. Functional metagenomics revealed that Nitrospira (phylum Nitrospirota, comprising >99 % Nitrospira) and Novosphingobium (phylum Proteobacteria) mediated increased amino acid metabolism and reduced ATP biosynthesis in SR, contrasting with Bacteroidota-dominated biomass synthesis in CK through enhanced protein, nucleotide metabolism and ATP biosynthesis. By coupling deterministic microbial assembly with functional repartitioning, this work contributes to establish a design principle for targeted microbiome engineering in low-sludge systems, advancing sustainable wastewater management through ecological optimization of microbial resource allocation.
KW - Anaerobic side-stream reactor (ASSR)
KW - Deterministic assembly
KW - Microbial cooperation
KW - Nitrospira
KW - Sludge yield reduction
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105023072545
U2 - 10.1016/j.watres.2025.125031
DO - 10.1016/j.watres.2025.125031
M3 - 文章
C2 - 41319383
AN - SCOPUS:105023072545
SN - 0043-1354
VL - 290
JO - Water Research
JF - Water Research
M1 - 125031
ER -