Bacterial Community Structure Shifted by Geosmin in Granular Activated Carbon System of Water Treatment Plants

• Published in: Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol. 26; no. 1; pp. 99 - 109
• Main Authors: Pham, Ngoc Dung, Lee, Eun-Hee, Chae, Seon-Ha, Cho, Yongdeok, Shin, Hyejin, Son, Ahjeong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) 한국미생물·생명공학회 01.01.2016
• Subjects: Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - genetics; Bacteria - isolation & purification; Bacteria - metabolism; Biodiversity; Charcoal - chemistry; Fresh Water - analysis; Fresh Water - microbiology; Molecular Sequence Data; Naphthols - analysis; Naphthols - metabolism; Phylogeny; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - metabolism; Water Purification - instrumentation; Water Purification - methods; 생물학; water treatment plant; bacterial community; granular activated carbon; water quality; geosmin; cyanobacteria
• ISSN: 1017-7825; 1738-8872
• DOI: 10.4014/jmb.1506.06033

We investigated the relation between the presence of geosmin in water and the bacterial community structure within the granular activated carbon (GAC) system of water treatment plants in South Korea. GAC samples were collected in May and August of 2014 at three water treatment plants (Sungnam, Koyang, and Yeoncho in Korea). Dissolved organic carbon and geosmin were analyzed before and after GAC treatment. Geosmin was found in raw water from Sungnam and Koyang water treatment plants but not in that from Yeoncho water treatment plant. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, the 16S rRNA clone library indicated that the bacterial communities from the Sungnam and Koyang GAC systems were closely related to geosmin-degrading bacteria. Based on the phylogenetic tree and multidimensional scaling plot, bacterial clones from GAC under the influence of geosmin were clustered with Variovorax paradoxus strain DB 9b and Comamonas sp. DB mg. In other words, the presence of geosmin in water might have inevitably contributed to the growth of geosmin degraders within the respective GAC system.