title: DGGE analysis of buffalo manure eubacteria for hydrogen production: effect of pH, temperature and pretreatments.
abstract: Buffalo dung is a low-cost substrate with plenty of carbohydrates, an optimal carbon/nitrogen ratio, and a rich microbial flora, and could become a valuable source of biogas. Therefore, in the present study we compared the type and amount of specific eubacteria to the different configurations of pH, temperature and thermal pretreatment after fermentation in batch reactors in order to understand the suitability of buffalo manure for hydrogen production. The phylogenetic structure of the microbial community in fermentation samples was studied using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis to generate fingerprints of 16S rRNA genes. The sequences analysis revealed abundance of the phyla Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, and in particular of the order Clostridiales. Very active hydrogen producing bacteria belonging to Clostridium cellulosi species were identified demonstrating the suitability of this substrate to produce hydrogen. Moreover, a large fraction of 16S-rDNA amplicons could not be assigned to lower taxonomic ranks, demonstrating that numerous microorganisms involved in anaerobic fermentation in digesters or bioreactors are still unclassified or unknown.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Second University of Naples, via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy. petronia.carillo@unina2.it
authors.forename: Petronia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carillo
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carotenuto
authors.forename: Filomena
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Di Cristofaro
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kafantaris
authors.forename: Carmine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lubritto
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Minale
authors.forename: Biagio
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Morrone
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Papa
authors.forename: Pasqualina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Woodrow
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D002020:Buffaloes / Q000382:microbiology*; D046508:Culture Techniques; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D058645:Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005285:Fermentation; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D054892:Metagenome; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D006859:Hydrogen