Studies on the nitrogen metabolism characteristics of a heterotrophic nitrifying-aerobic denitrifying Thauera butanivorans. strain

SUI Shuang-ming; SONG Yi-lin; LI Ying-ying; ZHANG Wei-jin; LI Zhu; LIAO Ming-jun

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China Environmental Science ›› 2025, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (9) : 5176-5189.

Studies on the nitrogen metabolism characteristics of a heterotrophic nitrifying-aerobic denitrifying Thauera butanivorans. strain

SUI Shuang-ming¹, SONG Yi-lin¹, LI Ying-ying¹, ZHANG Wei-jin¹, LI Zhu^1,2, LIAO Ming-jun^1,2

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Abstract

A heterotrophic nitrifying-aerobic denitrifying bacterium, identified as Thauera butanivorans SVT, was isolated from spice wastewater. Genomic DNA of the isolate was extracted for whole-genome sequencing to analyze and predict nitrogen metabolic pathways. The nitrogen metabolism characteristics were investigated using 100mg/L NH₄⁺-N, NO₃^--N, or NO₂^--N as sole nitrogen sources. The effects of different carbon sources (sodium acetate anhydrous, sodium citrate, sodium succinate, sucrose, and glucose), C/N ratios (1, 5, 10, 15, 30), temperatures (10°C, 20°C, 30°C, 40°C, 50°C), and pH levels (4.0, 6.5, 7.5, 8.5, 10.0) on its heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification performance were systematically investigated. Results showed total nitrogen removal rates of (86.96±1.03)%, (60.52±4.70)%, and (64.32±1.40)% within 48hours when using NH₄⁺-N, NO₃^--N, and NO₂^--N as sole nitrogen sources, respectively. Strain SVT demonstrated growth and nitrogen removal capabilities under all tested conditions, with optimal performance achieved using sodium acetate anhydrous as carbon source at 30°C, C/N=10, and pH 7.5. Genomic analysis identified six nitrogen metabolism-related functional enzyme genes (napAB, nxrAB, nirBD, nirS, norBC, and nosZ). Combined with KEGG database alignment and single nitrogen source metabolism results, the proposed nitrogen metabolic pathways include: ammonium assimilation (NH₄⁺-N→L-glutamate→L-glutamine), nitrification (NH₄⁺-N→NO₂^--N→NO₃^--N), denitrification (NO₃^--N→NO₂^--N→NO→N₂O→N₂), and DNRA pathway (NO₃^--N→NO₂^--N→NH₄⁺-N). This study demonstrates that strain SVT exhibits efficient heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification capabilities, showing promising potential for wastewater treatment applications.

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Thauera / heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification / genomic sequencing / nitrogen removal / nitrogen metabolic pathway

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SUI Shuang-ming, SONG Yi-lin, LI Ying-ying, ZHANG Wei-jin, LI Zhu, LIAO Ming-jun. Studies on the nitrogen metabolism characteristics of a heterotrophic nitrifying-aerobic denitrifying Thauera butanivorans. strain[J]. China Environmental Science. 2025, 45(9): 5176-5189

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