title: High diversity and abundance of putative polyphosphate-accumulating Tetrasphaera-related bacteria in activated sludge systems.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry, and Environmental Engineering, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Hien Thi Thu
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Vang Quy
authors.initials: VQ
authors.lastname: Le
authors.forename: Aviaja Anna
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: Jeppe Lund
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: Per Halkjaer
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Nielsen
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000378:metabolism; D000192:Actinomycetales / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D018533:Biomass; D015723:Gene Library; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes / Q000235:genetics; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D011122:Polyphosphates / Q000378:metabolism*; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D011122:Polyphosphates; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012722:Sewage; D010758:Phosphorus