Characterization of the bacterial communities of aerobic granules in a 2-fluorophenol degrading process

Anouk F Duque; Vânia S Bessa; Paula M L Castro

doi:10.1016/j.btre.2014.12.007

Characterization of the bacterial communities of aerobic granules in a 2-fluorophenol degrading process

Biotechnol Rep (Amst). 2014 Dec 18:5:98-104. doi: 10.1016/j.btre.2014.12.007. eCollection 2015 Mar.

Authors

Anouk F Duque¹, Vânia S Bessa¹, Paula M L Castro¹

Affiliation

¹ CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina - Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa/Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal.

Abstract

Aerobic granular sludge constitutes a novel technology for wastewater treatment. This study focused on the effect of 2-fluorophenol (2-FP) shock loadings on the microbial community diversity present in aerobic granules before and after inoculation with a bacterial strain able to degrade 2-FP, Rhodococcus sp. strain FP1. After bioaugmentation, apart from strain FP1, five culturable bacteria were isolated from the 2-FP degrading granules, belonging to the following genera: Serratia, Chryseobacterium, Xanthomonas, Pimelobacter and Rhodococcus. The latter two isolates are able to degrade 2-FP. Changes in the aerobic granules' bacterial communities related to 2-FP shock loadings were examined using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S rRNA gene pool. Numerical analysis of the DGGE profiles showed high diversity with an even distribution of species. Based on cluster analysis of the DGGE profiles, the bacterial communities present in the aerobic granules changes were related to the sampling time and the 2-FP concentration fed.

Keywords: 2-Fluorophenol (2-FP); Aerobic granular sludge; Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE); Microbial community diversity; Rhodococcus sp. strain FP1.