Metagenomic analysis reveals the microbial degradation mechanism during kitchen waste biodrying

Biodrying is a treatment to remove moisture using bio-heat generated during organic degradation. Organic matter degradation and microbial metabolism were studied during the whole kitchen waste biodrying, using metagenomic analysis. After the 25-day biodrying process, carbohydrate, protein and lipid contents decreased by 83.7%, 27.8% and 79.3%, respectively, and their degradation efficiencies increased after the thermophilic phase. Lipase activity exceeded 10 mmol d-1 g-1 throughout biodrying. Cellulase and lipase activities recovered by 2.21% and 5.77%, respectively, after the thermophilic phase, while the protease activity had a maximum increment of 347%. Metabolic analysis revealed that carbohydrate, amino acid and lipid metabolism was possibly inhibited by the high temperature, but the relative abundances of related predicted functions recovered by more than 0.9%, 7% and 11%, respectively, by the end of biodrying. Protein function prediction suggests that β-oxidation, fatty acid biosynthesis, and the degradation of cellulose and chitin were possibly enhanced during the thermophilic phase. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis revealed that leucine, isoleucine and lysine could ultimately degraded to acetyl-CoA. Weissella, Aeribacillus and Bacillus were the genera with the most enriched functional genes during the whole biodrying process. These findings help elucidate the microbial degradation processes during biodrying, which provides further scientific support for improving the application of biodrying products.