This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"In the absence of oxygen, some prokaryotes can degrade organic matter via anaerobic digestion. This occurs in natural settings, like wetlands, and industrial ones, like wastewater treatment or biogas production. But what about viruses? Bacteriophages can impact their hosts’ community structure through selective pressure and have been used to influence microbial communities, such as through pathogen control. A recent study examined the virome of anaerobic digestion communities undergoing prophage- inducing environmental stresses. The virome was almost entirely composed of tailed bacteriophages of the order Caudovirales. Metagenome reconstruction revealed 1,092 viral genomes and 120 prokaryotic genomes, and over half of the prokaryotic genomes contained a provirus in their genomic sequence. In general, species of viruses and prokaryotes could be grouped by having similar reactions to stressors. Archaea had the most pronounced reactions to stressors and featured behaviors unique to those species..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

By studying key processes in the carbon cycle, such as photosynthesis, composting and anaerobic digestion, students learn how nature and engineers "biorecycle" carbon. Students are exposed to examples of how microbes play many roles in various systems to recycle organic materials and also learn how the carbon cycle can be used to make or release energy.

In a multi-week experiment, student teams gather biogas data from the mini-anaerobic digesters that they build to break down different types of food waste with microbes. Using plastic soda bottles for the mini-anaerobic digesters and gas measurement devices, they compare methane gas production from decomposing hot dogs, diced vs. whole. They monitor and measure the gas production, then graph and analyze the collected data. Students learn how anaerobic digestion can be used to biorecycle waste (food, poop or yard waste) into valuable resources (nutrients, biogas, energy).

Student teams find solutions to hypothetical challenge scenarios that require them to sustainably manage both resources and wastes. They begin by creating a card representing themselves and the resources (inputs) they need and wastes (outputs) they produce. Then they incorporate additional cards for food and energy components and associated necessary resources and waste products. They draw connections between outputs that provide inputs for other needs, and explore the problem of using linear solutions in resource-limited environments. Then students incorporate cards based on biorecycling technologies, such as algae photobioreactors and anaerobic digesters in order to make circular connections. Finally, the student teams present their complete biorecycling engineering solutions to their scenarios in poster format by connecting outputs to inputs, and showing the cycles of how wastes become resources.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Methane production by microbes is a hot topic - Literally. Because of the potential to cause global warming, increased methane production is of great concern, but if properly controlled, it can also boost energy generation. Unfortunately, the basic mechanisms through which microbes generate methane remain unclear. To provide some clarity, researchers recently approached the problem using a combination of metagenomics and metatranscriptomics, which revealed that different microbes fill unique functional niches in methane-producing communities. In some cases, microbes worked against each other, but in others, they used metabolic and transcription processes that complemented each other, suggesting that methanogenic microbes form a complex community to reduce the biosynthetic burden. And interestingly, different hydrogen concentrations in methane-producing niches favored different types of methanogenic bacteria..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Fixing carbon through biological methanation is a promising technology for generating renewable energy. It remains unclear, however, how microbial species interact to generate biogas. To find out, researchers explored the community dynamics of microbes found in biofilms from four biogas reactors. Metagenomics revealed 59 species of microbes with five accounting for more than 70% of total abundance in the four reactors under investigation. Experiments showed that Firmicutes spp. GSMM966 and GSMM974 and Limnochordia sp. GSMM975 played a central role in biofilm formation. And metabolic reconstruction indicated complex metabolisms for the two dominant species M. wolfeii GSMM957 and Limnochordia sp. GSMM975. Simulations of the core biofilm community showed that these same species exhibit the highest increases in growth rate with increasing uptake. And cross-feeding interactions, not easily measured in vivo, were visualized..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Syntrophic acetate-oxidizing bacteria (SAOB) could be a living source of clean energy. Through anaerobic digestion, SAOB turn wastewater sludge and biowaste into methane. Unfortunately, knowledge about SAOB remains limited. To find out more about these important microbes, researchers used metagenomics to study bacteria from a solid-state biowaste digester. They found that SAOB species, including Firmicutes, were abundant, including bacteria with the potential for syntrophic acetate oxidation and energy conservation. The study suggests the existence of a remarkable anaerobic digestion ecosystem, where diverse and novel specialized bacteria aid in dry fermentation of biowaste to produce clean energy..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.