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UnRaveling the molEcular baSis Promoting Candidatus BrocadIa as the doMinant anaMOX genus in wastewater treatment plants

Project description

Understanding the biomolecular properties of anammox bacteria

To prevent fish deaths, ammonia and other nitrogen compounds from human waste need to be removed entirely at wastewater treatment plants. Anammox bacteria can perform this transformation. However, extensive technological applications are still under research because there is a lack of molecular studies to help understand these bacteria and their behaviour. Understanding how different anammox species find their unique ecological space is challenging. The EU-funded RESPIMMOX project intends to better understand the biomolecular properties of anammox Candidatus Brocadia, which is the main anammox genus in wastewater treatment plants improving the performance of bioreactors. The project will develop an anammox Ca. Brocadia-enriched culture with high cell concentrations. It will also identify and characterise the protein complexes involved in the anammox Ca. Brocadia energy metabolism.

Objective

The finding of anammox bacteria brought up the possibility of achieving energy-self-sufficient wastewater treatment plants for nitrogen removal, but their widespread technological application is still under research. The lack of pure cultures, standard cultivation methods and comprehensive genetic data make the molecular research on anammox bacteria challenging, and thus, there is a critical absence of molecular studies to understand how these bacteria make a living. One of the current challenges of anammox bacteria research is to understand niche differentiation, meaning how and why different anammox species find their unique ecological space. RESPIMMOX project aims to understand the biomolecular characteristics of anammox Ca. Brocadia that trigger their niche differentiation as the main anammox genus present in wastewater treatment plants, to improve the efficiency and stability of bioreactors. We will obtain biochemical evidence of the membrane-bound protein complexes involved in the electron transport chain of Brocadia-species, and investigate the soluble yet-unidentified enzymes responsible of the nitrite reduction. We will follow a complexome profiling approach combined with enzymatic activity assays, as commonly performed with Dehalococcoides mccartyi in the host laboratory. RESPIMMOX project will be accomplished through three specific objectives: i) achievement of an anammox Brocadia-enriched culture with high cell concentrations; ii) training of the researcher in biochemical methods to characterize respiratory complexes using the respiration with halogenated aromatic compounds as an example; and iii) identification and characterization of the protein complexes involved in the anammox Ca. Brocadia energy metabolism. The results from this proposal will entail a step forward for the understanding of anammox niche differentiation, specifically of the dominance of Ca. Brocadia in bioreactors, and will contribute to unravel the puzzle that anammox bacteria pose.

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Topic(s)

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MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019

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Coordinator

HELMHOLTZ-ZENTRUM FUR UMWELTFORSCHUNG GMBH - UFZ
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 162 806,40
Address
PERMOSERSTRASSE 15
04318 LEIPZIG
Germany

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Region
Sachsen Leipzig Leipzig
Activity type
Research Organisations
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 162 806,40
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