Cloacibacterium: Developing a Model System to Study the Bacteria of Wastewater Conveyance Systems
Mentor 1
Ryan Newton
Start Date
10-5-2022 10:00 AM
Description
The genus Cloacibacterium is a member of the Flavobacteriaceae family and consists of a group of bacteria that are common to wastewater transport and treatment systems. In municipal wastewater conveyance pipes, we find that Cloacibacterium regularly represents >1% of the bacterial community and is among the top 15 most abundant genera across systems in the US. There are four described species within the Cloacibacterium genus; two were isolated from wastewater and the other two from freshwater benthic environments. Given the apparent limited habitat range and habitat preference of Cloacibacterium for built urban water systems and natural benthic environments, we are interested in developing Cloacibacterium into model system to understand the influences of wastewater infrastructure on microbial genomic content. The purpose of this project was to initiate our model system development, by isolating Cloacibacterium from Milwaukee sewage samples, identifying culture media and culture conditions appropriate for routine isolation, and identifying local natural aquatic sources of Cloacibacterium. In our US sewage sample dataset, we found that Cloacibacterium is more abundant in wastewater with higher temperatures. Our isolation attempts indicate more nutrient rich media are more effective in growing Cloacibacterium. We are now using droplet digital PCR to screen local river, lake, and lagoon samples, including water and sediment, to identify natural system hot-spots for Cloacibacterium.
Cloacibacterium: Developing a Model System to Study the Bacteria of Wastewater Conveyance Systems
The genus Cloacibacterium is a member of the Flavobacteriaceae family and consists of a group of bacteria that are common to wastewater transport and treatment systems. In municipal wastewater conveyance pipes, we find that Cloacibacterium regularly represents >1% of the bacterial community and is among the top 15 most abundant genera across systems in the US. There are four described species within the Cloacibacterium genus; two were isolated from wastewater and the other two from freshwater benthic environments. Given the apparent limited habitat range and habitat preference of Cloacibacterium for built urban water systems and natural benthic environments, we are interested in developing Cloacibacterium into model system to understand the influences of wastewater infrastructure on microbial genomic content. The purpose of this project was to initiate our model system development, by isolating Cloacibacterium from Milwaukee sewage samples, identifying culture media and culture conditions appropriate for routine isolation, and identifying local natural aquatic sources of Cloacibacterium. In our US sewage sample dataset, we found that Cloacibacterium is more abundant in wastewater with higher temperatures. Our isolation attempts indicate more nutrient rich media are more effective in growing Cloacibacterium. We are now using droplet digital PCR to screen local river, lake, and lagoon samples, including water and sediment, to identify natural system hot-spots for Cloacibacterium.
