title: Molecular identification of the microbial diversity in two sequencing batch reactors with activated sludge.
abstract: The diversity of the microbial community was identified in two lab-scale, ideally mixed sequencing batch reactors which were run for 115 days. One of the reactors was intermittently aerated (2 h aerobically/2 h anaerobically) whereas the other was consistently aerated. The amount of biomass as dry matter, the degradation of organic carbon determined by chemical oxygen demand and nitrogen-degradation activity were followed over the operation of the two reactors and did not show significant differences between the two approaches at the end of the experiment. At this point, the composition of the microbial community was determined by a terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism approach using multiple restriction enzymes by which organisms were retrieved to the lowest taxonomic level. The microbial composition was then significantly different. The species richness was at least five-fold higher in the intermittently aerated reactor than in the permanently kept aerobic approach which is in line with the observation that ecosystem disturbances result in higher diversity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Waste and Urban Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany. martin.denecke@uni-due.de
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Denecke
authors.forename: Sascha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eilmus
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Röder
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roesch
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bothe
mesh_terms: D000332:Aerobiosis; D018533:Biomass; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D058448:Biota; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D054892:Metagenome; D017672:Nitrogen Compounds / Q000378:metabolism; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000378:metabolism; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology*; D018508:Water Purification
chemical_list: D017672:Nitrogen Compounds; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D012722:Sewage