Journal Article

Microbial community structure and dynamics in thermophilic composting viewed through metagenomics and metatranscriptomics

Moura, Livia Maria Silva, Digiampietri, Luciano Antonio, Quaggio, Ronaldo Bento, Barbosa, Deibs, Lemos, Leandro Nascimento, Pereira, Roberta Verciano, Thomas, Andrew Maltez, Pascon, Renata Castiglioni, Antunes, Luciana Principal, Lombardi, Karen Cristina, Martins, Layla Farage, de Oliveira, Julio Cezar Franco, Silva, Gianluca Major Machado, Cruz, João Batista da, Epamino, George Willian Condomitti, da Silva, Aline Maria, Ramos, Patricia Locosque, Setubal, João Carlos

2016

Overview

Composting is a promising source of new organisms and thermostable enzymes that may be helpful in environmental management and industrial processes. Here we present results of metagenomic- and metatranscriptomic-based analyses of a large composting operation in the São Paulo Zoo Park. This composting exhibits a sustained thermophilic profile (50 °C to 75 °C), which seems to preclude fungal activity. The main novelty of our study is the combination of time-series sampling with shotgun DNA, 16S rRNA gene amplicon, and metatranscriptome high-throughput sequencing, enabling an unprecedented detailed view of microbial community structure, dynamics, and function in this ecosystem. The time-series data showed that the turning procedure has a strong impact on the compost microbiota, restoring to a certain extent the population profile seen at the beginning of the process; and that lignocellulosic biomass deconstruction occurs synergistically and sequentially, with hemicellulose being degraded preferentially to cellulose and lignin. Moreover, our sequencing data allowed near-complete genome reconstruction of five bacterial species previously found in biomass-degrading environments and of a novel biodegrading bacterial species, likely a new genus in the order Bacillales. The data and analyses provided are a rich source for additional investigations of thermophilic composting microbiology.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: 45/23 / 45/90 / 45/91 / 631/208/212/2142 / 631/326/171/1818 / Bacteria - genetics / Biodegradation, Environmental / Biomass / Cellulose / Community structure / Composting / Data processing / Deoxyribonucleic acid / DNA / DNA sequencing / Environmental management / Enzymes / Gene Expression Profiling / Genomes / Hemicellulose / High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing / Humanities and Social Sciences / Lignin / Lignin - metabolism / Metagenomics / Microbial Consortia / Microbiology / Microbiomes / multidisciplinary / New genera / Next-generation sequencing / RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics / rRNA 16S / Science / Soil Microbiology / Structure-function relationships / Time series