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The bacterial community present during semicontinuous treatment of organic solid waste under alkaline and high-temperature conditions was studied. PCR-amplified 16S rDNA fragments were analyzed by double gradient-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The band pattern was stable during the steady state of the treatment phase, and the major bands resulting from individual treatments had the same DNA sequence with good reproducibility. No sequence in the DNA database of isolated bacteria showed close similarity to this sequence, the closest relative being Bacillus licheniformis with less than 97% similarity. The conditions for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were determined without the need to obtain extracts of the bacterial cells. An oligonucleotide probe was designed to detect the microorganisms found in the DGGE analysis. FISH analysis showed that the bacterium corresponding to the major bands accounted for 30% of the total eubacterial cell count at the steady state. These results indicate that this bacterium is a key microorganism in the biodegradation process.

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