Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40013791›Full record

ArticlemSystems2025

Anaerobic digestion of microalgae: microbial response and recovery after organic loading disturbances.

Juline M Walter, Silvia Greses, Live H Hagen, Valerie C Schiml, Phillip B Pope, Cristina González-Fernández, Magnus Ø Arntzen

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in mSystems, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Juline M WalterFaculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, NMBU-Norwegian University of Life Sciences, As, Norway.
Silvia GresesBiotechnological Processes Unit-IMDEA Energy, Avda. Ramón de la Sagra 3, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain.
Live H HagenFaculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, NMBU-Norwegian University of Life Sciences, As, Norway.
Valerie C SchimlFaculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, NMBU-Norwegian University of Life Sciences, As, Norway.
Phillip B PopeFaculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, NMBU-Norwegian University of Life Sciences, As, Norway.
Cristina González-FernándezBiotechnological Processes Unit-IMDEA Energy, Avda. Ramón de la Sagra 3, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain.
Magnus Ø ArntzenFaculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, NMBU-Norwegian University of Life Sciences, As, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-1803-727X

Funding

EC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (H2020) 101007006Norges Forskningsråd (Forskningsrådet) 295910
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Industrial anaerobic digestion (AD) represents a relevant energy source beyond today's fossil fuels, wherein organic matter is recycled to methane gas via an intricate and complex microbial food web. Despite its potential, anaerobic reactors often undergo process instability over time, which is frequently caused by substrate composition perturbations, making the system unreliable for stable energy production. To ensure the reliability of AD technologies, it is crucial to identify microbial and system responses to better understand the effect of such perturbations and ultimately detect signatures indicative of process failure. Here, we investigate the effect of the microalgal organic loading rate (OLR) on the fermentation product profile, microbiome dynamics, and disruption/recovery of major microbial metabolisms. Reactors subjected to low- and high-OLR disturbances were operated and monitored for fermentation products and biogas production over time, while microbial responses were investigated via 16S rRNA gene amplicon data, shotgun metagenomics, and metagenome-centric metaproteomics. Both low- and high-ORL fed systems encountered a sudden decline in methane production during OLR disturbances, followed by a recovery of the methanogenic activity within the microbiome. In the high-OLR disturbances, system failure triggered an upregulation of hydrolytic enzymes, an accumulation of fermentation products, and a shift in the methanogenic population from hydrogenotrophic to acetoclastic methanogens, with the latter being essential for recovery of the system after collapse. IMPORTANCE: Anaerobic digestion (AD) with microalgae holds great potential for sustainable energy production, but process instability caused by substrate disturbances remains a significant barrier. This study highlights the importance of understanding the microbial dynamics and system responses during organic loading rate perturbations. By identifying key shifts in microbial populations and enzyme activity, particularly the transition from hydrogenotrophic to acetoclastic methanogens during recovery, this research provides critical insights for improving AD system stability and can contribute to optimizing microalgae-based AD processes for more reliable and efficient methane production.

Indexed as

BioreactorsMicroalgaeAnaerobiosisBiofuelsFermentationMethaneMicrobiotaRNA, Ribosomal, 16SBiofuelsMethaneRNA, Ribosomal, 16Sanaerobic digestioncarbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes)metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs)metagenomicsmetaproteomicsmethanemicroalgae

Identifiers

PMID40013791
PMCPMC11915838

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.