Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

“ Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis” is widely found in full-scale wastewater treatment plants, where it has been identified as the key organism for biological removal of phosphorus. Since aeration can account for 50% of the energy use during wastewater treatment, microaerobic conditions for wastewater treatment have emerged as a cost-effective alternative to conventional biological nutrient removal processes. Our report provides strong genomics-based evidence not only that “ Ca . Accumulibacter phosphatis” is the main organism contributing to phosphorus removal under microaerobic conditions but also that this organism simultaneously respires nitrate and oxygen in this environment, consequently removing nitrogen and phosphorus from the wastewater. Such activity could be harnessed in innovative designs for cost-effective and energy-efficient optimization of wastewater treatment systems.

Here we report the detection of Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae from tick collected from human patient through DNA amplification. The tick was identified to be Haemaphysalis longicornis. We amplified and sequenced rickettsial citrate synthase gene (gltA), 190_kDa outer protein gene (ompA), and 120_ kDa outer protein gene (ompB). Sequencing results showed that gltA gene and ompA (GenBank accession No. KT899085, KT899079, respectively) shared 100% nucleotide sequence similarities with Candidatus R. tarasevichiae. In addition, ompB gene shared 96% nucleotide sequence similarity with R. canadensis. However, DNA extracted from patient serum showed 98% sequence similarity with R. japonica (AF123713.1). This result implies that H. longicornis ticks harbor both Candidatus R. tarasevichiae and R. japonica.