title: Nitrifying bacterial community structure of a full-scale integrated fixed-film activated sludge process as investigated by pyrosequencing.
abstract: Nitrifying bacterial community structures of suspended and attached biomasses in a full-scale integrated fixed-film activated sludge process were investigated by analyzing 16S rRNA gene sequences obtained from pyrosequencing. The suspended biomass had a higher number of ammoniaoxidizing bacterial sequences (0.8% of total sequences) than the attached biomass (0.07%), although most of the sequences were within the Nitrosomonas oligotropha lineage in both biomasses. Nitrospira-like nitrite-oxidizing bacterial sequences were retrieved in the suspended biomass (0.06%), not in the attached biomass, whereas the existence of Nitrobacter-like sequences was not evident. The suspended biomass had higher nitrification activity (1.13 mg N/TSS/h) than the attached biomass (0.07 mg N/TSS/h). Overall, the results made it possible to conclude the importance of the suspended biomass, rather than the attached biomass, in nitrification in the wastewater treatment process studied.
authors.affiliation: School of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Taek-Seung
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Han-Shin
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Soondong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Hee-Deung
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000378:metabolism; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D044822:Biodiversity; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D058465:Nitrification; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D056910:Republic of Korea; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012722:Sewage; D000641:Ammonia