Compilation of different anaerobic digester microbial communities analysed through 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing during continuous and long term operation for conversion of non pre-treated microalgae into biogas

Microbial communities have an indigenous and strong potential to acclimatize to different substrates. Anaerobic bioreactors can be used for not only treating several waste streams, but also converting them into valuable products including energy. The resulting product of anaerobic reduction of the organic matter is biogas, whose high content in methane provides it a high energetic potential. Among the different sources of organic matter that can be converted into energy are the microalgae. These microorganisms are a promising renewable source as a biofuel as their culture has a low environmental footprint. The main bottleneck for their use in full scale biogas-producing systems is their disruption, as their cell wall bodies are often hard to hydrolyze. This study focuses on the analysis of different anaerobic bioreactors treating microalgae biomass. Microbial analysis of the communities involved in this process provides valuable information about relevant microorganisms that enhance the microalgae disruption. Several phylotypes have been revealed in this study after taxonomic assignment of the open reference clusters found after 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing analysis.