Microbial diversity in hypersaline wastewater: the example of tanneries.
In contrast to conventional wastewater treatment plants and saline environments, little is known regarding the microbial diversity of hypersaline wastewater. In this study, the microbial communities of a hypersaline tannery effluent, and those of three treatment systems operating with the tannery effluent, were investigated using 16S rDNA phylogenetic markers. The comparative analysis of 377 bacterial sequences revealed the high diversity of this type of hypersaline environment, clustering within 193 phylotypes (> or = 97% similarity) and covering 14 of the 52 divisions of the bacterial domain, i.e. Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Chlorobi, Planctomycetes, Spirochaetes, Synergistes, Chloroflexi, Thermotogae, Verrucomicrobia, OP3, OP11 and TM7. Most of the phylotypes were related to halophilic and pollutant-degrading bacteria. Using statistical analysis, the diversity of this type of environment was compared to that of other environmental samples selected on the basis of their salinity, oxygen content and organic load.
Lefebvre
O
O
Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Avenue des Etangs, 11100 Narbonne, France. olivier2703@yahoo.com
Vasudevan
N
N
Thanasekaran
K
K
Moletta
R
R
Godon
J J
JJ
D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D044822:Biodiversity; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D015723:Gene Library; D007194:India; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000032:analysis; D010802:Phylogeny; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D021521:Ribotyping; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology*; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D013633:Tanning; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014871:Water Microbiology; D018508:Water Purification
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D007220:Industrial Waste; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012722:Sewage; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D010100:Oxygen