This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplemental material
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
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by van der Wielen, P. W. J. J.
Right arrow Articles by van der Kooij, D.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by van der Wielen, P. W. J. J.
Right arrow Articles by van der Kooij, D.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by van der Wielen, P. W. J. J.
Right arrow Articles by van der Kooij, D.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2009, p. 4687-4695, Vol. 75, No. 14
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00387-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria and Archaea in Groundwater Treatment and Drinking Water Distribution Systems{triangledown} ,{dagger}

Paul W. J. J. van der Wielen,* Stefan Voost, and Dick van der Kooij

KWR Watercycle Research Institute, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands

Received 17 February 2009/ Accepted 18 May 2009

The ammonia-oxidizing prokaryote (AOP) community in three groundwater treatment plants and connected distribution systems was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR and sequence analysis targeting the amoA gene of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA). Results demonstrated that AOB and AOA numbers increased during biological filtration of ammonia-rich anoxic groundwater, and AOP were responsible for ammonium removal during treatment. In one of the treatment trains at plant C, ammonia removal correlated significantly with AOA numbers but not with AOB numbers. Thus, AOA were responsible for ammonia removal in water treatment at one of the studied plants. Furthermore, an observed negative correlation between the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration in the water and AOA numbers suggests that high DOC levels might reduce growth of AOA. AOP entered the distribution system in numbers ranging from 1.5 x 103 to 6.5 x 104 AOPs ml–1. These numbers did not change during transport in the distribution system despite the absence of a disinfectant residual. Thus, inactive AOP biomass does not seem to be degraded by heterotrophic microorganisms in the distribution system. We conclude from our results that AOA can be commonly present in distribution systems and groundwater treatment, where they can be responsible for the removal of ammonia.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: KWR Watercycle Research Institute, P.O. Box 1072, 3430BB Nieuwegein, The Netherlands. Phone: 31 30 606 9642. Fax: 31 30 606 1165. E-mail: paul.van.der.wielen{at}kwrwater.nl

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 22 May 2009.

{dagger} Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://aem.asm.org/.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2009, p. 4687-4695, Vol. 75, No. 14
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00387-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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