Genomic and functional characterization of new bacterial species capable of degrading a highly recalcitrant urban waste leachate

• Grant number: 23/15410-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: August 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: María Eugenia Guazzaroni
• Grantee: María Carolina Ortiz Cáceres
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/01748-5 - Discovery and development of new non-model bacterial chassis for biotechnological applications, AP.TEM

Abstract

Urban solid waste management is a challenge for developing countries. However, the increasing implementation of sanitary landfills has favored the proper disposal and processing of most of the population's waste. Even so, landfills can generate harmful events such as fires, greenhouse gas emissions and leachate generation. Urban landfill leachate, also known as slurry, is a liquid formed during the stabilization process of municipal solid waste in landfills and is highly contaminating. Efforts to prevent the emission of leachate into the environment have led to the development of treatments for its remediation. On the other hand, several studies have shown the presence of a complex microbial community adapted to this highly polluted environment. In addition, the isolation of various organisms has made it possible to discover their ability to metabolize compounds that are difficult to degrade, such as toxic metals and hydrocarbons. These characteristics make the microbiota of manure a source of organisms potentially capable of acting in bioremediation processes or in the biotechnology industry. In this context, this work aims to identify and characterize new bacterial isolates from a sample of urban waste slurry, concentrated by reverse osmosis, and to study the adapted microbial community. To do this, the bacterial microbiota of the slurry sample will first be determined, and the genera identified will be contrasted with those reported in current literature. Subsequently, organisms capable of growing on agar with leachate as the sole carbon source will be isolated. In addition, their ability to grow in leachate will be tested together with other bacteria studied in the MetaGenLab. We will then proceed to identify the isolates taxonomically and sequence their genomes, and after that, we will correlate the genomic data with the degradation capacity and tolerance to the compounds present in the concentrated leachate. Finally, a comparison will be made of the performance of the isolates in aerobiosis and anaerobiosis, pointing to the use of this waste as a source of nutrients for biotechnological processes.