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Characterization of the denitrifying bacterial community in a full-scale rockwool biofilter for compost waste-gas treatment

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

The potential denitrification activity and the composition of the denitrifying bacterial community in a full-scale rockwool biofilter used for treating livestock manure composting emissions were analyzed. Packing material sampled from the rockwool biofilter was anoxically batch-incubated with 15N-labeled nitrate in the presence of different electron donors (compost extract, ammonium, hydrogen sulfide, propionate, and acetate), and responses were compared with those of activated sludge from a livestock wastewater treatment facility. Overnight batch-incubation showed that potential denitrification activity for the rockwool samples was higher with added compost extract than with other potential electron donors. The number of 16S rRNA and nosZ genes in the rockwool samples were in the range of 1.64–3.27 × 109 and 0.28–2.27 × 108 copies/g dry, respectively. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis targeting nirK, nirS, and nosZ genes indicated that the distribution of nir genes was spread in a vertical direction and the distribution of nosZ genes was spread horizontally within the biofilter. The corresponding denitrifying enzymes were mainly related to those from Phyllobacteriaceae, Bradyrhizobiaceae, and Alcaligenaceae bacteria and to environmental clones retrieved from agricultural soil, activated sludge, freshwater environments, and guts of earthworms or other invertebrates. A nosZ gene fragment having 99% nucleotide sequence identity with that of Oligotropha carboxidovorans was also detected. Some nirK fragments were related to NirK from micro-aerobic environments. Thus, denitrification in this full-scale rockwool biofilter might be achieved by a consortium of denitrifying bacteria adapted to the intensely aerated ecosystem and utilizing mainly organic matter supplied by the livestock manure composting waste-gas stream.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Mr. M. Ishibashi (Kumamoto Prefectural Agricultural Research Center, Animal Husbandry Research Institute), who conducted the malodorous gas measurements at NILGS. We thank the members of the Technical Support Center and the Division of Animal Environment and Waste Management Research at the Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, NARO, for their useful assistance and discussions. In this research, we used the super computer of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Information Technology Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan.

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  1. Kazuyoshi Suzuki

    Present address: Animal Feeding and Management Research Division, Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, NARO, Nasu Research Station, 768 Senbonmatsu, Nasushiobara, Tochigi, 329-2793, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Animal Waste Management and Environment Research Division, Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), 2 Ikenodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0901, Japan

    Tomoko Yasuda, Miyoko Waki, Yasuyuki Fukumoto & Kazuyoshi Suzuki

  2. Dairy Production Research Division, Hokkaido Agricultural Research Center, NARO, 1 Hitsujigaoka, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 062-8555, Japan

    Dai Hanajima

  3. Division of Livestock and Grassland Research, Kyushu Okinawa Agricultural Research Center, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), 2421 Suya, Koshi, Kumamoto, 861-1192, Japan

    Kazutaka Kuroda

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  1. Tomoko Yasuda
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Correspondence to Tomoko Yasuda.

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Yasuda, T., Waki, M., Fukumoto, Y. et al. Characterization of the denitrifying bacterial community in a full-scale rockwool biofilter for compost waste-gas treatment. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 101, 6779–6792 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8398-y

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