Characterization of methanogenic microbial community present in different vinasse distribution systems by pyrosequencing technique

• Grant number: 13/09377-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: August 19, 2013
• End date: June 18, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy
• Principal Investigator: Brigitte Josefine Feigl
• Grantee: Bruna Gonçalves de Oliveira Carvalho
• Supervisor: Roderick I. Mackie
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 12/05735-6 - Methane emission and functional microbiota associated with sugarcane vinasse in storage and transportation systems, BP.DR

Abstract

The use of renewable energy and low carbon content is one of the strategies to mitigate the greenhouse gases emissions (GHGs). Ethanol from sugar cane, which has significantly favorable energy balance, is a commercially available alternative with great potential for fast expansion in many countries. As a co-product of this process is generated vinasse. There are few data on the possible impacts it causes in the environment, especially in regard to GHG emissions, despite many benefits when applied to the soil. It is known that the greatest impact of GHG from the vinasse is the emission of CH4, but it is unknown what factors are interfering in the production of greenhouse gases and their correlation with the methanogenic microorganisms. Thus, the main goal of this project is to measure the CH4 emission from the vinasse in different delivery systems and analyze the microbial diversity related to the CH4 production. This diversity is determined by the amplification of the gene related to the microbial production of CH4, mcrA, by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), followed by analysis by qPCR (quantitative PCR). In a first step the studies will focus on preliminary survey of the different vinasse distribution systems found in plants, where located in representative area of ethanol production in Brazil. Through this survey will be determinated study areas for further study and perform the sampling of methane. With this will be obtained important data from vinasse in different systems, in order to identify changes in emissions over the crop of cane sugar.In addition with this proposal the student who develops this research intent to travel abroad to carry out additional analyzes and discussion of the data. She is in contact with a great group in University of Illinois which works with molecular microbial ecology and can be considered reference in studies of functional and comparative genomics of methanogens. The microbiology analysis that will be held in University of Illinois is Pyrosequencing, this analysis will allow the identification of methanogenic groups of interest present in the distribution systems vinasse. The identification of the genera and species involved in CH4 production from vinasse can aggregate information about which fermentation conditions these micro-organisms will be present and will allow better understanding of the methanogenic microbial community present in the system. The importance of this period of training is the knowledge acquired and the data that will be generated because not aware of other studies in the literature who works with this type of evaluation of methanogenic community in different distribution systems vinasse found in Brazil. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

OLIVEIRA, BRUNA G.; MENDES, LUCAS W.; SMYTH, EOGHAN M.; TSAI, SIU M.; FEIGL, BRIGITTE J.; MACKIE, I, RODERICK. Assessment of microbial diversity associated with CH4 emission from sugarcane vinasse storage and transportation systems. Journal of Environmental Management, v. 269, SEP 1 2020. (12/05735-6, 13/09377-0, 13/05597-5)