Microbial Population Analysis of Denitrifying Cultures Enriched with Different Carbon Sources

Abstract

In wastewater treatment plants, the performance of the biological denitrification processes depend on the key functionally relevant microbial populations, which are affected by many factors, including influent characteristics (e.g., carbon sources), operational conditions, and temperature. This study used Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (ARISA) to analyze microbial population structures and dynamics associated with various carbon sourcespecific denitrifying enrichment cultures and reveal the dynamics and microbial diversity, as well as biochemical fundamentals underlying the different denitrification behavior observed. The ability of the specific carbon-acclimated populations to use other alternative carbon sources and the associated changes in microbial community structure was assessed by evaluating the maximum denitrification rates and with ARISA analysis. Although the ARISA profiles showed distinct community structures for denitrifying cultures as a result of enrichment with different carbon sources, no stable community structure or strong correlation between the microbial community signatures with certain carbon sources emerged. Furthermore, the ability of carbonspecific acclimated sludge to utilize other carbon sources varied for different enrichments, showing different acclimatization time duration and denitrification rates .

Novel MicroC Mathematical Model for Biological Nitrogen Removal in Activated Sludge Systems: Introduction of the Multi Heterotrophic-biomass Simulation

“…Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer (ARISA) analysis was used in a previous study (Oreskovich et al, 2011) to analyze the microbial community composition of three SBRs using three different carbon sources (MicroC 1000 TM , MicroC 2000 TM , and a mixture of 80% methanol: 20% MicroC 2000 TM ) under denitrifying conditions. The details of the experiments are presented elsewhere .…”