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Volume 37 Issue 3
Jun 2026
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Journal of Earth Science  > 2026  >  37(3): 1425-1439.
Xin Wang, Zulpiya Musa, Liuqin Huang, Geng Wu, Weijun Zhang, Hongchen Jiang. Composition of Microbial Community Involved in the Degradation of Waste Activated Sludge and Its Temperature Response in Hot Springs. Journal of Earth Science, 2026, 37(3): 1425-1439. doi: 10.1007/s12583-025-0312-4
Citation: Xin Wang, Zulpiya Musa, Liuqin Huang, Geng Wu, Weijun Zhang, Hongchen Jiang. Composition of Microbial Community Involved in the Degradation of Waste Activated Sludge and Its Temperature Response in Hot Springs. Journal of Earth Science, 2026, 37(3): 1425-1439. doi: 10.1007/s12583-025-0312-4
shu

Composition of Microbial Community Involved in the Degradation of Waste Activated Sludge and Its Temperature Response in Hot Springs

doi: 10.1007/s12583-025-0312-4
  • 1.

    School of Ocean Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China

  • 2.

    State Key Laboratory of Geomicrobiology and Environmental Changes, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430078, China

  • 3.

    National Engineering Research Center of Industrial Wastewater Detoxication and Resource Recovery, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China

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  • Corresponding author: Hongchen Jiang, jiangh@cug.edu.cn
  • Received Date: 31 Mar 2025
  • Accepted Date: 10 May 2025
    • Available Online: 10 Jun 2026
  • Issue Publish Date: 30 Jun 2026
    Abstract

  • Thermophilic microbial communities in hot springs represent a promising yet underexplored resource for high-temperature sludge degradation. This study investigated the structural dynamics and temperature-adaptive mechanisms of microbial communities in Tengchong hot springs using waste activated sludge (WAS) as the carbon/nitrogen source. Through anaerobic/aerobic enrichments at 50–75 ℃, high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed distinct thermophilic assemblages: Methanothermobacter, Fervidobacterium, Pseudothermotoga, Caloramator and Thermodesulfovibrio dominated anaerobic communities, while Thermus, Pseudothermotoga, Brevibacillus, Enhydrobacter and Thermogutta thrived aerobically. Temperature served as a dominant determinant of community composition: alpha diversity peaked at 55 ℃ under aerobic conditions before declining, whereas it continuously decreased with increasing temperature under anaerobic conditions. Network analysis highlighted simplified yet functionally resilient interactions at elevated temperatures. This work identifies novel thermophilic resources for industrial sludge remediation and establishes a framework for elucidating temperature-dependent microbial sludge-degradation pathways in extreme environments.

     

    • Electronic Supplementary Materials: Supplementary materials (ESM Ⅰ Tables S1–S4, ESM Ⅱ Figures S1–S5) are available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-025-0312-4.
    Conflict of Interest
    The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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