Metabolomics Study of Subsurface Wastewater Infiltration System Under Fluctuation of Organic Load

Abstract

Subsurface Wastewater Infiltration System (SWIS) is a sewage ecological treatment technology with low investment, energy consumption, and operating cost. SWIS soil contains a large variety of microorganisms. The metabolic process and production of microorganisms are an important basis for qualitatively describing the process of pollutant removal. In order to discover the microbial decontamination pathways in SWIS, the metabolic profiles of soil microorganisms in SWIS were analyzed by UPLC-MS. Partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA)and principal component analysis (PCA) pattern recognition methods were used to classify the samples. According to the model s variable importance factor (VIP value), potential biomarkers were screened and biological information contained in the metabolites was also analyzed. The correlation between metabolites and environmental factors was explored by RDA analysis. In total, 230 differential metabolites with VIP value greater than 1.5 were screened out when the influent organic load fluctuated at 250\xa0mg\xa0L −1 , 400\xa0mg\xa0L −1 , and 500\xa0mg\xa0L −1 . After identifying and screening, 35 differential metabolites were identified and used to further analyze the metabolic pathway. It turns out that microbial metabolites in SWIS were mainly glycosides, fatty acids, amino acids, pigments, diterpenoids, and some polymers under medium and high organic loading conditions. At low organic load, the microbial metabolites in SWIS were mainly ketones, alcohols, and esters. Graphic Abstract