Metagenomics survey unravels diversities of biogas’ microbiomes with potential to enhance its’ productivity in Kenya

Abstract

The failure of biochemical reactions in biogas producing systems is a common problem and results from poor functioning of the inhabiting micro-organisms. A poor understanding of the global diversities of these micro-organisms and lack of information on the link between environmental variables, biogas production, and community composition, contrains the development of strategies that can ameliorate these biochemical issues. We have integrated sequencing-by-synthesis technology and intensive computational approaches to reveal metacommunities in the studied reactor treatments. The identified communities were compared with the treatment’s phenotypic and environmental data in an attempt to fill the existing knowledge gaps on biogas microbiomes and their production capacities. We present 132 biogas taxonomic profiles systematically and comparatively, linking the abundance with the identified environmental variables. The local composition of microbiome and variations in abundance were also linked to the observed differences in biogas productivity, suggesting the possible cause of the observed variations. The detailed information presented in this study can aid in the genetic manipulation or formulation of optimal microbial ratios to improve their effectiveness in biogas production.