Studies of Sewage Purification: XIII. The Biology of Sphaerotilus natans Kutzing in Relation to Bulking of Activated Sludge

Lackey, James B.; Wattie, Elsie

doi:10.2307/4583309

Cited by 32 publications

(26 citation statements)

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“…The bacterium Thiothrix nivea and the fungus Mucor racemosus were cited by Tiegs (1939) as important components of slimes, and Cooke ( I 954, I 963) lists additional fungi associated with polluted waters and slime growths. Butcher does not give any idea of relative abundance of the particular organisms except that S. natans was the major slime-forming organism in rivers, which is confirmed by other workers (Lackey & Wattie, 1940;Klein, 1962;Curtis, 1969; 507 I 983). The WPRL survey identified S. natans and zoogloeal bacteria as being the commonest slime-forming organisms associated with slime outbreaks (Curtis & Curds, 1971).…”

Section: ( I ) Composition Of Slimesmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…typica is found. With this variety, which is the most frequently observed (Lackey & Wattie, 1940), especially in Irish waters, branching is weakly developed and often absent. The sheath is also thicker and of a more slimey and sticky consistency.…”

Section: (B) Temporal Distributionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Sphaerotilus natans is an aerobe (Lackey & Wattie, 1940) which only requires small amounts of oxygen (0.1 mgl-I) for growth (Ruchhoff & Kachmar, 1941). While Liebmann (1937) only observed growth of slimes in oxygen-rich waters and in the surface layers of slower-flowing waters, slimes have been recorded in rivers with a minimum dissolved oxygen concentration of 0.5 mg 1-' (Gaufin & Tarzwell, 1956;Phaup, 1968).…”

Section: (B) Dissolved Oxygen Concentrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Heterotrophic Slimes in Flowing Waters

Gray

1985

Biological Reviews

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Summary 1. While much attention has been paid to the ecology of macro‐invertebrates in flowing water, the microbial ecology of such systems has been largely ignored and our knowledge of heterotrophic slimes in particular remains far from complete. Slime‐forming organisms are ubiquitous in their distribution and are part of the normal riverine flora. Slime outbreaks occur in all types of organically enriched flowing fresh waters, regardless of their chemical nature. Slimes are predominantly of heterotrophs which require a constant supply of (i) a suitable carbon source, (ii) inorganic nutrients and in particular nitrogen and phosphorous, and possibly (iii) growth factors such as vitamins. Phosphorous is not a limiting factor for growth, with slimes developing in rivers with < 0·02 mg P l‐1. Other inorganic nutrients such as nitrogen can be used in various forms and are usually present in adequate amounts, even in unpolluted streams. Therefore occurrence appears to be most closely correlated with the presence of a source of available carbon. 2. The severity of outbreaks are not closely associated with soluble organic carbon content although there is a tendency for heavy growths to occur more frequently in more severely polluted waters. Low‐molecular‐weight sugars are clearly the causative agents of Sphaerotilus natans dominated slimes with higher molecular weight material such as starches not immediately effective as growth promoters. Mono‐ to penta‐saccharides are mainly used by bacterial slimes while fungal components utilize fatty acids up to C8. It is not possible to adopt a nationwide BOD5 standards to control slime outbreaks as even small increases in river BOD5 (< 1·0 mg l‐1) can support slime growth. There is a need to develop new methods of assessing the slime‐promoting capability of effluents such as measuring the readily degradable low‐molecular‐weight carbon compounds, so that threshold concentrations of soluble organic carbon below which slime will not develop can be determined. 3. The effect of effluent enrichment on slime growth diminishes downstream as there is a tendency for the soluble carbohydrate to mix and dilute. The slime also metabolizes the carbohydrate, reducing the concentration by up to 60 % depending on the stage of slime development, thus limiting its own proliferation. This is the typical pattern of self‐purification in flowing waters. 4. The taxonomy of all the slime‐forming species are poorly understood as is the ecology of slimes. Species composition of slimes vary temporally and spatially within individual rivers. The primary factors affecting composition are nutrient type and water velocity, although pH determines whether a slime is either predominantly fungal or bacterial. The rate of transfer of oxygen and nutrients is dependent on water velocity with zoogloeal forms predominating as velocity falls to < 0·05 m s‐1. More details of the effects of water velocity and other environmental factors on all the slime‐forming organisms is required. 5. The effects of specific environmenta...

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Section: ( I ) Composition Of Slimesmentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: (B) Temporal Distributionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: (B) Dissolved Oxygen Concentrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Heterotrophic Slimes in Flowing Waters

Gray

1985

Biological Reviews

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“…Bacteria of the genus Sphaerotilus are mostly considered to be typical organisms of polluted waters. This is particularly true of S. natans (Zikes, 1915; Lackey & Wattie, 1940;Wuhrmann, 1946). According to Pringsheim (1949a,b), S. ?aatans is a very variable organism; in unpolluted waters it would occur as form dichotoma (Cludothrix dichotoma) or as form ochracea (L. ochracea) when ferrous iron is present in considerable amounts.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The growth requirements of X. natans have been investigated by a number of authors (Biisgen, 1894; Linde, 1913; Zikes, 1915; Lackey & Wattie, 1940;Wuhrmann, 1946;Wuhrmann & Korstler, 1950;Stokes, 1954;HOhnl, 1955;Scheuring, 1957;Dondero, Phillips & Heukelekian, 1961;Razumov, 1962;Mulder & van Veen, 1963). Many sugars, alcohols, organic acids and amino acids were found to be suitable carbon sources.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Iron Bacteria, particularly those of the Sphaerotilus‐Leptothrix Group, and Industrial Problems

Mulder¹

1964

Journal of Applied Bacteriology

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Decomposition of organic wastes by Sphaerotilus

Pipes

Jones

1963

Biotech & Bioengineering

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Sphaerotilus is usually present in biological waste treatment processes and is considered to be a nuisance organism because it may cause bulking of activated sludge. However, it may play an important role in the decomposition of putrescible organic matter in properly operated biological waste treatment processes. The research described herein is a study of the variety of types of organic compounds which may be decomposed by Sphaerotilus and the effect of some environmental factors upon the rate of decomposition. Although there are some types of compounds which cannot be decomposed by Sphaerotilus, it is shown that this organism is able to assimilate and oxidize a large variety of organic compounds and that it is tolerant of an extremely wide range of environmental conditions. The role of Sphaerotilus in biological waste treatment is discussed in the light of the data presented.

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Studies of Sewage Purification: XIII. The Biology of Sphaerotilus natans Kutzing in Relation to Bulking of Activated Sludge

Cited by 32 publications

References 2 publications

Heterotrophic Slimes in Flowing Waters

Heterotrophic Slimes in Flowing Waters

Iron Bacteria, particularly those of the Sphaerotilus‐Leptothrix Group, and Industrial Problems

Decomposition of organic wastes by Sphaerotilus

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