This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Martiny, A. C.
Right arrow Articles by Molin, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Martiny, A. C.
Right arrow Articles by Molin, S.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Martiny, A. C.
Right arrow Articles by Molin, S.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2005, p. 8611-8617, Vol. 71, No. 12
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.12.8611-8617.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Identification of Bacteria in Biofilm and Bulk Water Samples from a Nonchlorinated Model Drinking Water Distribution System: Detection of a Large Nitrite-Oxidizing Population Associated with Nitrospira spp.

Adam C. Martiny,1,2,{dagger} Hans-Jørgen Albrechtsen,2* Erik Arvin,2 and Søren Molin1

BioCentrum-DTU,1 Environment & Resources DTU, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark2

Received 11 February 2005/ Accepted 14 September 2005

In a model drinking water distribution system characterized by a low assimilable organic carbon content (<10 µg/liter) and no disinfection, the bacterial community was identified by a phylogenetic analysis of rRNA genes amplified from directly extracted DNA and colonies formed on R2A plates. Biofilms of defined periods of age (14 days to 3 years) and bulk water samples were investigated. Culturable bacteria were associated with Proteobacteria and Bacteriodetes, whereas independently of cultivation, bacteria from 12 phyla were detected in this system. These included Acidobacteria, Nitrospirae, Planctomycetes, and Verrucomicrobia, some of which have never been identified in drinking water previously. A cluster analysis of the population profiles from the individual samples divided biofilms and bulk water samples into separate clusters (P = 0.027). Bacteria associated with Nitrospira moscoviensis were found in all samples and encompassed 39% of the sequenced clones in the bulk water and 25% of the biofilm community. The close association with Nitrospira suggested that a large part of the population had an autotrophic metabolism using nitrite as an electron donor. To test this hypothesis, nitrite was added to biofilm and bulk water samples, and the utilization was monitored during 15 days. A first-order decrease in nitrite concentration was observed for all samples with a rate corresponding to 0.5 x 105 to 2 x 105 nitrifying cells/ml in the bulk water and 3 x 105 cells/cm2 on the pipe surface. The finding of an abundant nitrite-oxidizing microbial population suggests that nitrite is an important substrate in this system, potentially as a result of the low assimilable organic carbon concentration. This finding implies that microbial communities in water distribution systems may control against elevated nitrite concentrations but also contain large indigenous populations that are capable of assisting the depletion of disinfection agents like chloramines.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Environment & Resources, Building 115, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark. Phone: 45 45 25 15 86. Fax: 45 45 93 28 50. E-mail: hja{at}er.dtu.dk.

{dagger} Present address: Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 01239.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2005, p. 8611-8617, Vol. 71, No. 12
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.12.8611-8617.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Besemer, K., Singer, G., Limberger, R., Chlup, A.-K., Hochedlinger, G., Hodl, I., Baranyi, C., Battin, T. J. (2007). Biophysical Controls on Community Succession in Stream Biofilms. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 4966-4974 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Eichorst, S. A., Breznak, J. A., Schmidt, T. M. (2007). Isolation and Characterization of Soil Bacteria That Define Terriglobus gen. nov., in the Phylum Acidobacteria. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 2708-2717 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»