Microbial community and extracellular polymeric substances analysis of anaerobic granular sludge exposed to selenate, cadmium and zinc

The microbial community and extracellular polymeric substances composition of anaerobic granular sludge exposed to selenate (~10 mg/L), cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) (~2 and 5 mg/L) were investigated by high‐throughput sequencing and fluorescence excitation emission matrix (FEEM) spectra, respectively. As a response to selenate, Cd and/or Zn exposure, significant fluorescence quenching of fulvic‐like acids and humic‐like substances was observed. With selenate, Cd and/or Zn in the influent with respective concentrations of 10, 5 and 5 mg/L, the abundance of the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Spirochaetae, Cloacimonetes and Synergistetes increased significantly, and the dominant taxa in the anaerobic granular sludge exposed to Se, Cd and/or Zn were Halothiobacillaceae (10.2%), Pseudomonas (8.8%), Synergistaceae (7.7%), Spirochaetaceae (7.2%), Blvii28 wastewater sludge group (6.7%), Telmatospirillum (4.6%), Veillonellaceae (4.3%), Geobacter (4.0%) and Enterobacteriaceae (3.0%). Compared with the inoculum, the abundance of the archaea Methanobacterium and Methanosaeta decreased to below detection limit in the UASB reactor after 116 days exposure to Se, Cd and Zn.