Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Isolation and identification of bacteria responsible for simultaneous anaerobic ammonium and sulfate removal

  • Articles
  • Published:
Science China Chemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sulfate-dependent anaerobic ammonium oxidation is a novel biological reaction, in which ammonium is oxidized with sulfate as the electron acceptor under anoxic conditions. Ammonium and sulfate are cosmopolitan chemical species which are an integral part of the global nitrogen and sulfur cycles. A detailed exploration of sulfate-dependent anaerobic ammonium oxidation is quite practical. In this work, a bacterial strain named ASR has been isolated from an anaerobic ammonia and sulfate removing reactor working under steady-state. On the basis of electron microscopy, physiological tests and 16S rDNA phylogenetic sequence analysis, the strain ASR is found to be related to Bacillus benzoevorans. According to the biological carbon source utilization test, the strain ASR could use many carbon sources. Its optimum pH value and temperature were 8.5 and 30 °C, respectively. The test proves that the strain ASR is able to use sulfate to oxidize ammonia anaerobically. The maximum ammonia and sulfate removal rates were 44.4% and 40.0%, respectively. The present study provided biological evidence for the confirmation and development of sulfate-dependent anaerobic ammonium oxidation and brought new insights into the global nitrogen and sulfur cycles.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Fdz-Polanco F, Fdz-Polanco M, Fernandez N, Urueña MA, Garcia PA, Villaverde S. New process for simultaneous removal of nitrogen and sulphur under anaerobic conditions. Water Res, 2001, 35(4): 1111–1114

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Dong LX, Lv YT, Han QY, Wang ZY. The effect of sulfate reduction on ammonium oxidation and its inhibitory properties. J Xi’an Univ Arch Tech (Nat Sci Ed) (in Chinese), 2006, 38(3): 425–428

    Google Scholar 

  3. Zhao QL, Li W, You SJ. Simultaneous removal of ammoniumnitrogen and sulphate from wastewaters with an anaerobic attachedgrowth bioreactor. Water Sci Technol, 2006, 54(8): 27–35

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Zhang L, Zheng P, He YH, Jin RC. Performance of sulfate-dependent anaerobic ammonium oxidation. Sci China Ser B, 2008, 38(12): 1113–1119

    Google Scholar 

  5. Liu ST, Yang FL, Gong Z, Meng FF, Chen HH, Xue Y, Furukawa K. Application of anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing consortium to achieve completely autotrophic ammonium and sulfate removal. Bioresource Technol, 2008, 99(15): 6817–6825

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Yang ZQ, Zhou SQ, Sun YB. Start-up of simultaneous removal of ammonium and sulfate from an anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process in an anaerobic up-flow bioreactor. J Hazard Mater, doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.03.067

  7. Zheng P, Xu XY, Hu BL. New Theory and Technology for Biological Nitrogen Removal (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press, 2004. 1–3

    Google Scholar 

  8. Miu YQ. Theory and Technology of wastewater Desulfurization (in Chinese). Beijing: Chemical Industry Press, 2004. 1–5

    Google Scholar 

  9. Gruber N, Galloway JN. An earth-system perspective of the global nitrogen cycle. Nature, 2009, 451: 293–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Malin G. New pieces for the marine sulfur cycle jigsaw. Science, 2006, 314(5799): 607–608

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Kuypers MMM, Sliekers AO, Lavik G, Schmid M, Jørgensen BB, Kuenen JG, Sinninghe DJS, Strous M, Jetten MSM. Anaerobic ammonium oxidation by anammox bacteria in the black sea. Nature, 2003, 422: 608–611

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Habicht KS, Gade M, Thamdrup B, Berg P, Canfield DE. Calibration of sulfate levels in the archean ocean. Science, 2002, 298(5602): 2372–2374

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Devol AH. Nitrogen cycle: solution to a marine mystery. Nature, 2003, 422: 575–576

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Yao HY, Huang CY. Soil microbial ecology and its experimental technique (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press, 2006. 166–169

    Google Scholar 

  15. Tamura K, Dudley J, Nei M, Kumar S. MEGA4: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA) software version 4.0. Mol Biol Evol, 2007, 24: 1596–1599

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. National Environmental Bureau. Analyzing Methods for Water and Wastewater (4th Ed) (in Chinese). Beijing: China Environmental Science Press, 2002. 258–284

    Google Scholar 

  17. Buchanan RE, Gibbons NE. Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology (8th Ed) (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press, 1984. 7–9

    Google Scholar 

  18. Dong XZ, Cai MY. Manual of Determinative Bacteriology (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press, 2001. 43–65

    Google Scholar 

  19. Tao TS, Yang RF, Dong XZ. Systematics of Prokaryotes (in Chinese). Beijing: Chemical Industry Press, 2007. 5

    Google Scholar 

  20. Holt JG, Krieg NR, Sneath PHA, Staley JT, Williams ST. Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology (9th Ed). Baltimore: The Williams and Wickins Company, 1994. 559

    Google Scholar 

  21. Nakada Y, Ohta Y. Purification and Properties of Hydrogen Sulfide Oxidase from Bacillus sp. BN53-1. J Biosci Bioeng, 1999, 87(4): 452–455

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Riet J, Wientjes FB, Doorn J, Planta RJ. Purification and characterization of the respiratory nitrate reductase of Bacillus licheniformis. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Protein Structure, 1979, 576(2): 347–360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Chikwem JO, Downey RJ. Purification and characterization of the respiratory nitrate reductase of Bacillus stearothermophilus. Anal Biochem, 1982, 126(1): 74–80

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029, China

    Jing Cai, JianXiang Jiang & Ping Zheng

Authors
  1. Jing Cai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. JianXiang Jiang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ping Zheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ping Zheng.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Cai, J., Jiang, J. & Zheng, P. Isolation and identification of bacteria responsible for simultaneous anaerobic ammonium and sulfate removal. Sci. China Chem. 53, 645–650 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-010-0053-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-010-0053-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation