title: Involvement of Rhodocyclus-related organisms in phosphorus removal in full-scale wastewater treatment plants.
abstract: The participation of organisms related to Rhodocyclus in full-scale enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) was investigated. By using fluorescent in situ hybridization techniques, the communities of Rhodocyclus-related organisms in two full-scale wastewater treatment plants were estimated to represent between 13 and 18% of the total bacterial population. However, the fractions of these communities that participated in polyphosphate accumulation depended on the type of treatment process evaluated. In a University of Cape Town EBPR process, the percentage of Rhodocyclus-related cells that contained polyphosphate was about 20% of the total bacterial population, but these cells represented as much as 73% of the polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs). In an aerated-anoxic EBPR process, Rhodocyclus-related PAOs were less numerous, accounting for 6% of the total bacterial population and 26% of the total PAO population. In addition, 16S ribosomal DNA sequences 99.9% similar to the sequences of Rhodocyclus-related organisms enriched in acetate-fed bench-scale EBPR reactors were recovered from both full-scale plants. These results confirmed the involvement of Rhodocyclus-related organisms in EBPR and demonstrated their importance in full-scale processes. In addition, the results revealed a significant correlation between the type of EBPR process and the PAO community.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
authors.forename: Julie L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Zilles
authors.forename: Jordan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peccia
authors.forename: Myeong-Woon
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Chun-Hsiung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Noguera
mesh_terms: D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000378:metabolism*; D011122:Polyphosphates / Q000378:metabolism; D020560:Proteobacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods; D018508:Water Purification
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D011122:Polyphosphates; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D010758:Phosphorus