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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2006, p. 7540-7547, Vol. 72, No. 12
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01133-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Degradation of Methanethiol by Methylotrophic Methanogenic Archaea in a Lab-Scale Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor{triangledown} ,{dagger}

F. A. M. de Bok,1* R. C. van Leerdam,2 B. P. Lomans,1 H. Smidt,1 P. N. L. Lens,2 A. J. H. Janssen,2 and A. J. M. Stams1

Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University, Hesselink van Suchtelenweg 4, 6703 CT Wageningen, The Netherlands,1 Subdepartment of Environmental Technology, Wageningen University, Bomenweg 2, P.O. Box 8129, 6700 EV Wageningen, The Netherlands2

Received 15 May 2006/ Accepted 25 September 2006

In a lab-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor inoculated with granular sludge from a full-scale wastewater treatment plant treating paper mill wastewater, methanethiol (MT) was degraded at 30°C to H2S, CO2, and CH4. At a hydraulic retention time of 9 h, a maximum influent concentration of 6 mM MT was applied, corresponding to a volumetric loading rate of 16.5 mmol liter–1 day–1. The archaeal community within the reactor was characterized by anaerobic culturing and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis, cloning, and sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and quantitative PCR. Initially, MT-fermenting methanogenic archaea related to members of the genus Methanolobus were enriched in the reactor. Later, they were outcompeted by Methanomethylovorans hollandica, which was detected in aggregates but not inside the granules that originated from the inoculum, the microbial composition of which remained fairly unchanged. Possibly other species within the Methanosarcinacaea also contributed to the fermentation of MT, but they were not enriched by serial dilution in liquid media. The archaeal community within the granules, which was dominated by Methanobacterium beijingense, did not change substantially during the reactor operation. Some of the species related to Methanomethylovorans hollandica were enriched by serial dilutions, but their growth rates were very low. Interestingly, the enrichments could be sustained only in the presence of MT and did not utilize any of the other typical substrates for methylotrophic methanogens, such as methanol, methyl amine, or dimethylsulfide.

* Corresponding author. Present address: NIZO food research B.V., Kernhemseweg 2, Postbus 20, 6710 BA Ede, The Netherlands. Phone: 31 318 659585. Fax: 31 318 650400. E-mail: Frank.de.Bok{at}nizo.nl.

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 29 September 2006.

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

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2006, p. 7540-7547, Vol. 72, No. 12
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01133-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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