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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2000, p. 1167-1174, Vol. 66, No. 3
Center for Environmental
Biotechnology,1 Department of Chemical
Engineering,2 and Department of
Microbiology and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology,4 The University of Tennessee,
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, and Tennessee Eastman Division,
Eastman Chemical Company, Kingsport, Tennessee
376623
Received 29 October 1998/Accepted 22 October 1999
The bacterial community structure of the activated sludge from a 25 million-gal-per-day industrial wastewater treatment plant was
investigated using rRNA analysis. 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) libraries
were created from three sludge samples taken on different dates.
Partial rRNA gene sequences were obtained for 46 rDNA clones, and
nearly complete 16S rRNA sequences were obtained for 18 clones. Seventeen of these clones were members of the beta subdivision, and
their sequences showed high homology to sequences of known bacterial
species as well as published 16S rDNA sequences from other activated
sludge sources. Sixteen clones belonged to the alpha subdivision, 7 of
which showed similarity to Hyphomicrobium species. This
cluster was chosen for further studies due to earlier work on
Hyphomicrobium sp. strain M3 isolated from this treatment plant. A nearly full-length 16S rDNA sequence was obtained from Hyphomicrobium sp. strain M3. Phylogenetic analysis
revealed that Hyphomicrobium sp. strain M3 was 99% similar
to Hyphomicrobium denitrificans DSM 1869T in
Hyphomicrobium cluster II. Three of the cloned sequences
from the activated sludge samples also grouped with those of
Hyphomicrobium cluster II, with a 96% sequence similarity
to that of Hyphomicrobium sp. strain M3. The other four
cloned sequences from the activated sludge sample were more closely
related to those of the Hyphomicrobium cluster I organisms
(95 to 97% similarity). Whole-cell fluorescence hybridization of
microorganisms in the activated sludge with genus-specific Hyphomicrobium probe S-G-Hypho-1241-a-A-19 enhanced the
visualization of Hyphomicrobium and revealed that
Hyphomicrobium appears to be abundant both on the outside
of flocs and within the floc structure. Dot blot hybridization of
activated sludge samples from 1995 with probes designed for
Hyphomicrobium cluster I and Hyphomicrobium cluster II indicated that Hyphomicrobium cluster
II-positive 16S rRNA dominated over Hyphomicrobium cluster
I-positive 16S rRNA by 3- to 12-fold. Hyphomicrobium 16S
rRNA comprised approximately 5% of the 16S rRNA in the activated sludge.
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Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Quantification of Hyphomicrobium Populations in
Activated Sludge from an Industrial Wastewater Treatment System as
Determined by 16S rRNA Analysis
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Center for
Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Tennessee, 676 Dabney
Hall, Knoxville, TN 37996. Phone: (865) 974-8080. Fax: (865) 974-8086. E-mail: alayton{at}utk.edu.
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