Phage Ecology in Anaerobic Digestion

The aim of this project is to increase our understanding of phages in mixed-culture, anaerobic bioreactors, which are often used at wastewater treatment plants for production of biogas or short-chain volatile fatty acids from sewage sludge. Moreover, anaerobic, mixed-culture fermentation of a broad range of organic waste streams can be used to produce carboxylic acids, which are pre-cursors for fuels, industrial chemicals, and food ingredients.

This project will address the following research questions:

1. Which phages are present in anaerobic bioreactors?

2. Which microorganisms do they infect?

3. How does phage activity vary over time?

4. How is phage activity affected by bioreactor design and operation?

5. How are phages of anaerobic microorganisms distributed across environments and geographic locations?

For the first phase of the project, we wish to establish a comprehensive protocol for up-concentration and extraction of nucleic acids from viral particles in the anaerobic digestion processes. We shall start by examining whether freeze-thaw cycles and storage temperature can impact the quality of viral genetic material. Subsequently, we will also examine different isolation and sequencing techniques.

Doktorand: Gordon Wong

Startdatum: 2024

Tid för disputation: 2028

Handledare: Oskar Modin

Biträdande handledare: Frank Persson, Britt-Marie Wilén

Universitet: Chalmers tekniska högskola

Anställningsplats: Dept. Architecture and Civil Engineering, Div. Water Environment Technology

Email:

gordonw@chalmers.se

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