2020 Virtual Annual Student Conference
Investigation of the Presence and Role of Polyphosphate Accumulating Organisms (PAOs) in Lake and Sediment
Authors
Gloria J. Zhou - Presenter, Cornell University
Ria Desai, Cornell University
Il Han, Cornell University
Jangho Lee, Cornell University
Peisheng He, Cornell University
Qing Zhou, Nanjing University
April Z. Gu, Cornell University
Lars Rudstam, Cornell University
The international community faces an imminent global phosphorus crisis. There exists a growing need for phosphate as fertilizer for agricultural food production, but large amounts of phosphate are wasted and end up polluting water resources. Under aerobic conditions, polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) are known to uptake phosphorus and store it as polyphosphate. When switched to anaerobic conditions, PAOs will then release phosphate and obtain energy through the cleavage of polyphosphate. The Gu Research Group in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University partnered with the Cornell Biological Field Station to examine the presence and abundance of polyphosphate and PAOs in Oneida Lake. A series of core sediment samples were collected weekly over a one-month period and transported to Cornell University for preparation and subsequent analysis using Raman spectroscopy, flow cytometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The bacteria were isolated from sediment samples using density and mechanical separation methods. Both flow cytometry and subsequent analysis using Raman showed that polyphosphate-containing cells are present in the sediment and they appeared to correlate with DO levels at the surface of the sediment. Further experiments, such as colorimetric analysis, ion chromatography, and NMR, need to be conducted to confirm the absolute concentration of polyphosphate in the sediment samples. The findings from this study can benefit the search for PAOs to mitigate the global phosphorus crisis.