Absolute quantification and genome-centric analyses elucidate the dynamics of microbial populations in anaerobic digesters

Anaerobic digestion (AD) relies on myriads of functions performed by complex microbial communities in customized settings, thus, a comprehensive investigation on the AD microbiome is central to the fine-tuned control. Most current AD microbiome studies are based on relative abundance, which hinders the interpretation of microbes' dynamics and inter-sample comparisons. Here, we developed an absolute quantification (AQ) approach that integrated cellular spike-ins with metagenomic sequencing to elucidate microbial community variations and population dynamics in four anaerobic digesters. Using this method, 253 microbes were defined as decaying populations with decay rates ranging from -0.05 to -5.85 d(-1), wherein, a population from Flavobacteriaceae family decayed at the highest rates of -3.87 to -5.85 d(-1) in four digesters. Meanwhile, 25 microbes demonstrated the growing trend in the AD processes with growth rates ranging from 0.11 to 1.77 d(-1), and genome-centric analysis assigned some of the populations to the functional niches of hydrolysis, short-chain fatty acids metabolism, and methane generation. Additionally, we observed that the specific activity of methanogens was lower in the prolonged digestion stage, and redundancy analysis revealed that the feedstock composition and the digestion duration were the two key parameters in governing the AD microbial compositions.

Automated summary

This study developed an absolute quantification method to investigate microbial community variations and population dynamics in anaerobic digesters. The results revealed decaying and growing microbial populations during the AD process. Functional analysis assigned some populations to specific niches related to hydrolysis, short-chain fatty acids metabolism, and methane generation.