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 Princic, A.
Right arrow Articles by Tiedje, J. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Princic, A.
Right arrow Articles by Tiedje, J. M.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Princic, A.
Right arrow Articles by Tiedje, J. M.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 1998, p. 3584-3590, Vol. 64, No. 10
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Effects of pH and Oxygen and Ammonium Concentrations on the Community Structure of Nitrifying Bacteria from Wastewater

Alenka Princic,1,2,* Ivan Mahne,1 France Megusar,1 Eldor A. Paul,2 and James M. Tiedje2

Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Biology Center, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia,1 and Center for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824-13252

Received 13 February 1998/Accepted 29 June 1998

Shifts in nitrifying community structure and function in response to different ammonium concentrations (50, 500, 1,000, and 3,000 mg of N liter-1), pH values (pH 6.0, 7.0, and 8.2), and oxygen concentrations (1, 7, and 21%) were studied in experimental reactors inoculated with nitrifying bacteria from a wastewater treatment plant. The abilities of the communities selected for these conditions to regain their original structures after conditions were returned to the original conditions were also determined. Changes in nitrifying community structure were determined by performing an amplified ribosomal DNA (rDNA) restriction analysis of PCR products obtained with ammonia oxidizer-specific rDNA primers, by phylogenetic probing, by small-subunit (SSU) rDNA sequencing, and by performing a cellular fatty acid analysis. Digestion of ammonia-oxidizer SSU rDNA with five restriction enzymes showed that a high ammonium level resulted in a great community structure change that was reversible once the ammonium concentration was returned to its original level. The smaller changes in community structure brought about by the two pH extremes, however, were irreversible. Sequence analysis revealed that the highest ammonium environment stimulated growth of a nitrifier strain that exhibited 92.6% similarity in a partial SSU rRNA sequence to its nearest relative, Nitrosomonas eutropha C-91, although the PCR product did not hybridize with a general phylogenetic probe for ammonia oxidizers belonging to the beta  subgroup of the class Proteobacteria. A principal-component analysis of fatty acid methyl ester data detected changes from the starter culture in all communities under the new selective conditions, but after the standard conditions were restored, all communities produced the original fatty acid profiles.


* Corresponding author. Present address: Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Centre for Limnology, Rijksstraatweg 6, 3631 AC Nieuwersluis, The Netherlands. Phone: 31 294 23 93 00. Fax: 31 294 23 22 24. E-mail: princic{at}cl.nioo.knaw.nl.


Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 1998, p. 3584-3590, Vol. 64, No. 10
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Coci, M., Bodelier, P. L. E., Laanbroek, H. J. (2008). Epiphyton as a Niche for Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria: Detailed Comparison with Benthic and Pelagic Compartments in Shallow Freshwater Lakes. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 1963-1971 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Urakawa, H., Tajima, Y., Numata, Y., Tsuneda, S. (2008). Low Temperature Decreases the Phylogenetic Diversity of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea and Bacteria in Aquarium Biofiltration Systems. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 894-900 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Gvakharia, B. O., Permina, E. A., Gelfand, M. S., Bottomley, P. J., Sayavedra-Soto, L. A., Arp, D. J. (2007). Global Transcriptional Response of Nitrosomonas europaea to Chloroform and Chloromethane. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 3440-3445 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Urakawa, H., Maki, H., Kawabata, S., Fujiwara, T., Ando, H., Kawai, T., Hiwatari, T., Kohata, K., Watanabe, M. (2006). Abundance and population structure of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria that inhabit canal sediments receiving effluents from municipal wastewater treatment plants.. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 6845-6850 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Langenheder, S., Lindstrom, E. S., Tranvik, L. J. (2006). Structure and Function of Bacterial Communities Emerging from Different Sources under Identical Conditions. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 212-220 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Cebron, A., Coci, M., Garnier, J., Laanbroek, H. J. (2004). Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoretic Analysis of Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacterial Community Structure in the Lower Seine River: Impact of Paris Wastewater Effluents. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 6726-6737 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Vaillant, N., Monnet, F., Sallanon, H., Coudret, A., Hitmi, A. (2004). Use of Commercial Plant Species in a Hydroponic System to Treat Domestic Wastewaters. J. Environ. Qual. 33: 695-702 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Cebron, A., Berthe, T., Garnier, J. (2003). Nitrification and Nitrifying Bacteria in the Lower Seine River and Estuary (France). Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 7091-7100 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Egli, K., Langer, C., Siegrist, H.-R., Zehnder, A. J. B., Wagner, M., van der Meer, J. R. (2003). Community Analysis of Ammonia and Nitrite Oxidizers during Start-Up of Nitritation Reactors. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 3213-3222 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Burrell, P. C., Phalen, C. M., Hovanec, T. A. (2001). Identification of Bacteria Responsible for Ammonia Oxidation in Freshwater Aquaria. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67: 5791-5800 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Oved, T., Shaviv, A., Goldrath, T., Mandelbaum, R. T., Minz, D. (2001). Influence of Effluent Irrigation on Community Composition and Function of Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria in Soil. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67: 3426-3433 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Purkhold, U., Pommerening-Röser, A., Juretschko, S., Schmid, M. C., Koops, H.-P., Wagner, M. (2000). Phylogeny of All Recognized Species of Ammonia Oxidizers Based on Comparative 16S rRNA and amoA Sequence Analysis: Implications for Molecular Diversity Surveys. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 5368-5382 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ward, B. B., Martino, D. P., Diaz, M. C., Joye, S. B. (2000). Analysis of Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria from Hypersaline Mono Lake, California, on the Basis of 16S rRNA Sequences. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 2873-2881 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kaufman, M. G., Walker, E. D., Smith, T. W., Merritt, R. W., Klug, M. J. (1999). Effects of Larval Mosquitoes (Aedes triseriatus) and Stemflow on Microbial Community Dynamics in Container Habitats. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65: 2661-2673 [Abstract] [Full Text]