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Microbial community in a pilot-scale bioreactor promoting anaerobic digestion and sulfur-driven denitrification for domestic sewage treatment

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Abstract

A pilot-scale reactor treating domestic sewage was operated to promote anaerobic digestion and denitrification using endogenous electron donors. While 55 % of organic matter was removed, nitrogen and sulfur showed a different dynamics during the operation. Pyrosequencing analysis clarified this behavior revealing that specific microbial communities inhabited the anaerobic (47.05 % of OTUs) and anoxic (31.39 % of OTUs) chambers. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene partial sequences obtained through pyrosequencing revealed a total of 1727 OTUs clustered at a 3 % distance cutoff. In the anaerobic chamber, microbial community was comprised of fermentative, syntrophic and sulfate-reducing bacteria. The majority of sequences were related to Aminobacterium and Syntrophorhabdus. In the anoxic chamber, the majority of sequences were related to mixotrophic and strictly autotrophic denitrifiers Arcobacter and Sulfuricurvum, respectively, both involved in sulfur-driven denitrification. These results show that pyrosequencing was a powerful tool to investigate the microbial panorama of a complex system, providing new insights to the improvement of the system.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by FAPESP - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (Process numbers: 2007/58659-7, 2010/03286-4 and 2010/01735-6) and by CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sea Science, Federal University of São Paulo, Av. Saldanha Da Gama, 89, Ponta Da Praia, Santos, SP, 11030-400, Brazil

    Flávia Talarico Saia

  2. Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Polytechnic School, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Almeida Prado, 83, Trav. 2, Cidade Universitária, Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-900, Brazil

    Theo S. O. Souza

  3. Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, SC, Brazil

    Rubens Tadeu Delgado Duarte

  4. Laboratory of Biological Processes, School of Engineering of São Carlos, University of São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São-carlense, 400, São Carlos, SP, 13566-590, Brazil

    Eloisa Pozzi, Débora Fonseca & Eugenio Foresti

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  1. Flávia Talarico Saia
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Correspondence to Flávia Talarico Saia.

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Saia, F.T., Souza, T.S.O., Duarte, R.T.D. et al. Microbial community in a pilot-scale bioreactor promoting anaerobic digestion and sulfur-driven denitrification for domestic sewage treatment. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 39, 341–352 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-015-1520-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-015-1520-6

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