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 Eichner, C. A.
Right arrow Articles by Wagner-Döbler, I.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Eichner, C. A.
Right arrow Articles by Wagner-Döbler, I.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Eichner, C. A.
Right arrow Articles by Wagner-Döbler, I.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 1999, p. 102-109, Vol. 65, No. 1
0099-2240/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Thermal Gradient Gel Electrophoresis Analysis of Bioprotection from Pollutant Shocks in the Activated Sludge Microbial Community

Christine A. Eichner, Rainer W. Erb, Kenneth N. Timmis, and Irene Wagner-Döbler*

Division of Microbiology, National Research Centre for Biotechnology, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany

Received 10 August 1998/Accepted 26 October 1998

We used a culture-independent approach, namely, thermal gradient gel electrophoresis (TGGE) analysis of ribosomal sequences amplified directly from community DNA, to determine changes in the structure of the microbial community following phenol shocks in the highly complex activated sludge ecosystem. Parallel experimental model sewage plants were given shock loads of chlorinated and methylated phenols and simultaneously were inoculated (i) with a genetically engineered microorganism (GEM) able to degrade the added substituted phenols or (ii) with the nonengineered parental strain. The sludge community DNA was extracted, and 16S rDNA was amplified and analyzed by TGGE. To allow quantitative analysis of TGGE banding patterns, they were normalized to an external standard. The samples were then compared with each other for similarity by using the coefficient of Dice. The Shannon index of diversity, H, was calculated for each sludge sample, which made it possible to determine changes in community diversity. We observed a breakdown in community structure following shock loads of phenols by a decrease in the Shannon index of diversity from 1.13 to 0.22 in the noninoculated system. Inoculation with the GEM (Pseudomonas sp. strain B13 SN45RE) effectively protected the microbial community, as indicated by the maintenance of a high diversity throughout the shock load experiment (H decreased from 1.03 to only 0.82). Inoculation with the nonengineered parental strain, Pseudomonas sp. strain B13, did not protect the microbial community from being severely disturbed; H decreased from 1.22 to 0.46 for a 3-chlorophenol-4-methylphenol shock and from 1.03 to 0.70 for a 4-chlorophenol-4-methylphenol shock. The catabolic trait present in the GEM allowed for bioprotection of the activated sludge community from breakdown caused by toxic shock loading. In-depth TGGE analysis with similarity and diversity algorithms proved to be a very sensitive tool to monitor changes in the structure of the activated sludge microbial community, ranging from subtle shifts during adaptation to laboratory conditions to complete collapse following pollutant shocks.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Microbiology, National Research Centre for Biotechnology, Mascheroder Weg 1, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany. Phone: 49-531-6181408. Fax: 49-531-6181411. E-mail: iwd{at}gbf.de.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 1999, p. 102-109, Vol. 65, No. 1
0099-2240/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Dimitroglou, A., Merrifield, D. L., Moate, R., Davies, S. J., Spring, P., Sweetman, J., Bradley, G. (2009). Dietary mannan oligosaccharide supplementation modulates intestinal microbial ecology and improves gut morphology of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum). J ANIM SCI 87: 3226-3234 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Saikaly, P. E., Stroot, P. G., Oerther, D. B. (2005). Use of 16S rRNA Gene Terminal Restriction Fragment Analysis To Assess the Impact of Solids Retention Time on the Bacterial Diversity of Activated Sludge. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 5814-5822 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Snelling, W. J., McKenna, J. P., Lecky, D. M., Dooley, J. S. G. (2005). Survival of Campylobacter jejuni in Waterborne Protozoa. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 5560-5571 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Gafan, G. P., Lucas, V. S., Roberts, G. J., Petrie, A., Wilson, M., Spratt, D. A. (2005). Statistical Analyses of Complex Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis Profiles. J. Clin. Microbiol. 43: 3971-3978 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Siddique, T., Okeke, B. C., Zhang, Y., Arshad, M., Han, S. K., Frankenberger, W. T. Jr. (2005). Bacterial Diversity in Selenium Reduction of Agricultural Drainage Water Amended with Rice Straw. J. Environ. Qual. 34: 217-226 [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]  
  • Brummer, I. H. M., Felske, A. D. M., Wagner-Dobler, I. (2004). Diversity and Seasonal Changes of Uncultured Planctomycetales in River Biofilms. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 5094-5101 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Konstantinov, S. R., Awati, A., Smidt, H., Williams, B. A., Akkermans, A. D. L., de Vos, W. M. (2004). Specific Response of a Novel and Abundant Lactobacillus amylovorus-Like Phylotype to Dietary Prebiotics in the Guts of Weaning Piglets. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 3821-3830 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Brummer, I. H. M., Felske, A., Wagner-Dobler, I. (2003). Diversity and Seasonal Variability of {beta}-Proteobacteria in Biofilms of Polluted Rivers: Analysis by Temperature Gradient Gel Electrophoresis and Cloning. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 4463-4473 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ellis, R. J., Morgan, P., Weightman, A. J., Fry, J. C. (2003). Cultivation-Dependent and -Independent Approaches for Determining Bacterial Diversity in Heavy-Metal-Contaminated Soil. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 3223-3230 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Boon, N., Top, E. M., Verstraete, W., Siciliano, S. D. (2003). Bioaugmentation as a Tool To Protect the Structure and Function of an Activated-Sludge Microbial Community against a 3-Chloroaniline Shock Load. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 1511-1520 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Stamper, D. M., Walch, M., Jacobs, R. N. (2003). Bacterial Population Changes in a Membrane Bioreactor for Graywater Treatment Monitored by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoretic Analysis of 16S rRNA Gene Fragments. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 852-860 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Sekiguchi, H., Watanabe, M., Nakahara, T., Xu, B., Uchiyama, H. (2002). Succession of Bacterial Community Structure along the Changjiang River Determined by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis and Clone Library Analysis. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68: 5142-5150 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • von Canstein, H., Kelly, S., Li, Y., Wagner-Dobler, I. (2002). Species Diversity Improves the Efficiency of Mercury-Reducing Biofilms under Changing Environmental Conditions. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68: 2829-2837 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • McCaig, A. E., Glover, L. A., Prosser, J. I. (2001). Numerical Analysis of Grassland Bacterial Community Structure under Different Land Management Regimens by Using 16S Ribosomal DNA Sequence Data and Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis Banding Patterns. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67: 4554-4559 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ibekwe, A. M., Papiernik, S. K., Gan, J., Yates, S. R., Yang, C.-H., Crowley, D. E. (2001). Impact of Fumigants on Soil Microbial Communities. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67: 3245-3257 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • McCracken, V. J., Simpson, J. M., Mackie, R. I., Gaskins, H. R. (2001). Molecular Ecological Analysis of Dietary and Antibiotic-Induced Alterations of the Mouse Intestinal Microbiota. J. Nutr. 131: 1862-1870 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wagner-Döbler, I., Lünsdorf, H., Lübbehüsen, T., von Canstein, H. F., Li, Y. (2000). Structure and Species Composition of Mercury-Reducing Biofilms. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 4559-4563 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • ben Omar, N., Ampe, F. (2000). Microbial Community Dynamics during Production of the Mexican Fermented Maize Dough Pozol. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 3664-3673 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dejonghe, W., Goris, J., El Fantroussi, S., Höfte, M., De Vos, P., Verstraete, W., Top, E. M. (2000). Effect of Dissemination of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid (2,4-D) Degradation Plasmids on 2,4-D Degradation and on Bacterial Community Structure in Two Different Soil Horizons. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 3297-3304 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Boon, N., Goris, J., De Vos, P., Verstraete, W., Top, E. M. (2000). Bioaugmentation of Activated Sludge by an Indigenous 3-Chloroaniline-Degrading Comamonas testosteroni Strain, I2gfp. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 2906-2913 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Cho, J.-C., Kim, S.-J. (2000). Increase in Bacterial Community Diversity in Subsurface Aquifers Receiving Livestock Wastewater Input. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 956-965 [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»