Open AccessHigh diversity and abundance of putative polyphosphate‐accumulating Tetrasphaera ‐related bacteria in activated sludge systems
Author(s) -
Nguyen Hien Thi Thu,
Le Vang Quy,
Hansen Aviaja Anna,
Nielsen Jeppe Lund,
Nielsen Per Halkjær
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
fems microbiology ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.377
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1574-6941
pISSN - 0168-6496
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2011.01049.x
Subject(s) - enhanced biological phosphorus removal , biology , polyphosphate , activated sludge , 16s ribosomal rna , bacteria , biochemistry , sewage treatment , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , phosphate , genetics , engineering , waste management
The diversity of the putative polyphosphate‐accumulating genus Tetrasphaera in wastewater treatment systems with enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) was investigated using the full‐cycle rRNA approach combined with microautoradiography and histochemical staining. 16S rRNA actinobacterial gene sequences were retrieved from different full‐scale EBPR plants, and the sequences belonging to the genus Tetrasphaera (family Intrasporangiaceae ) were found to form three clades. Quantitative FISH analyses of the communities in five full‐scale EBPR plants using 10 new oligonucleotide probes were carried out. The results showed that the probe‐defined Tetrasphaera displayed different morphologies and constituted up to 30% of the total biomass. It was shown that active uptake of orthophosphate and formation of polyphosphate took place in most of the probe‐defined Tetrasphaera populations. However, aerobic uptake of orthophosphate only took place after uptake of certain carbon sources under anaerobic conditions and these were more diverse than hitherto assumed: amino acids, glucose, and for some also acetate. Tetrasphaera seemed to occupy a slightly different ecological niche compared with ‘ Candidatus Accumulibacter’ contributing to a functional redundancy and stability of the EBPR process.