Unravelling DNA viral communities involved in the anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge enhanced by hydrochar

Keliang Zhu¹, Zhijian Shi², Yalei Zhang³, Shicheng Zhang⁴, Gang Luo⁵

Affiliations

¹ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China.
² Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China; College of Ecology and Environment, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, China. Electronic address: zhijianshi@cdut.edu.cn.
³ Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, 200092, China; State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
⁴ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, 200092, China; Shanghai Technical Service Platform for Pollution Control and Resource Utilization of Organic Wastes, Shanghai, 200438, China.
⁵ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, 200092, China; Shanghai Technical Service Platform for Pollution Control and Resource Utilization of Organic Wastes, Shanghai, 200438, China. Electronic address: gangl@fudan.edu.cn.

PMID: 40749557
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.126761

Unravelling DNA viral communities involved in the anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge enhanced by hydrochar

Keliang Zhu et al. J Environ Manage. 2025 Sep.

. 2025 Sep:392:126761.

doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.126761. Epub 2025 Jul 31.

Authors

Keliang Zhu¹, Zhijian Shi², Yalei Zhang³, Shicheng Zhang⁴, Gang Luo⁵

Affiliations

¹ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China.
² Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China; College of Ecology and Environment, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, China. Electronic address: zhijianshi@cdut.edu.cn.
³ Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, 200092, China; State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
⁴ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, 200092, China; Shanghai Technical Service Platform for Pollution Control and Resource Utilization of Organic Wastes, Shanghai, 200438, China.
⁵ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, 200092, China; Shanghai Technical Service Platform for Pollution Control and Resource Utilization of Organic Wastes, Shanghai, 200438, China. Electronic address: gangl@fudan.edu.cn.

PMID: 40749557
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.126761

Abstract

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a key method for treating waste activated sludge (WAS), with methane production enhanced by various carbon materials. While prokaryotic communities in these processes have been extensively studied, DNA viral communities, which can regulate prokaryotic metabolism, remain largely unexplored. This study investigated the responses of DNA viral communities through metagenomic analysis in continuous AD of WAS enhanced by hydrochar. 166 medium-to high-quality viral operational taxonomic units (vOTUs) were obtained. Hydrochar significantly altered the β-diversity of viral communities, notably changing the relative abundances of some vOTUs. The hosts of 66 vOTUs were linked to 192 prokaryotic metagenome-assembled genomes, including various functional groups of bacteria and archaea. Further analysis showed hydrochar enhanced viral activity and enriched lytic viruses, regulating prokaryotic community diversity and stability. Viruses encoding auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) were involved in host nutrient cycling, replication, and transcription. Hydrochar enriched certain viruses carrying AMGs while promoting increased host abundance. This study offers new insights into how carbon materials enhance AD efficiency through viral communities.

Keywords: Anaerobic digestion; Auxiliary metabolism genes; Hydrochar; Viral-host interactions; Virus.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Unravelling DNA viral communities involved in the anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge enhanced by hydrochar

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Unravelling DNA viral communities involved in the anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge enhanced by hydrochar

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