Activity and Metabolic Versatility of Complete Ammonia Oxidizers in Full-Scale Wastewater Treatment Systems

Abstract

The discovery of comammox in the genus Nitrospira changes our perception of nitrification. However, genomes of comammox organisms have not been acquired from full-scale WWTPs, and very little is known about their survival strategies and potential metabolisms in complex wastewater treatment systems. Here, four comammox metagenome-assembled genomes and metatranscriptomic data sets were retrieved from two full-scale WWTPs. Their impressive and—among nitrifiers—unsurpassed ecophysiological versatility could make comammox Nitrospira an interesting target for optimizing nitrification in current and future bioreactor configurations.