Quantitative analyses of the composition and abundance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in eight full-scale biological wastewater treatment plants

• Published in: Bioresource technology Vol. 138; pp. 285 - 296
• Main Authors: Gao, Jing-Feng, Luo, Xin, Wu, Gui-Xia, Li, Ting, Peng, Yong-Zhen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Abundance; Ammonia - metabolism; Ammonia-oxidizing archaea; Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria; amoA Gene; Applied sciences; Archaea; Archaea - genetics; Archaea - metabolism; Bacteria; Bacteria - genetics; Bacteria - metabolism; Base Sequence; Biodegradation, Environmental; Biological and medical sciences; Biological treatment of waters; Biotechnology; Clusters; Environment and pollution; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genes; Genes, Archaeal - genetics; Genes, Bacterial - genetics; Genetic Variation; Industrial applications and implications. Economical aspects; Molecular Sequence Data; Nitrosomonas europaea; Nitrosomonas oligotropha; Oxidation-Reduction; Phylogeny; Plants (organisms); Pollution; Principal Component Analysis; Quantitative analysis; Waste Disposal, Fluid; Waste Water - microbiology; Wastewater treatment; Wastewater treatment plants; Wastewaters; Water Purification - methods; Water treatment and pollution; Ammonia-oxidizing archaea; Wastewater treatment plants; amoA Gene; Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria; Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria amoA Gene; Gene; Archaeobacteria; Bacteria; Ammoxidation; Waste water purification; Sewage treatment plant; Quantitative analysis; Biological purification
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2013.03.176

•AOB outnumbered AOA with amoA gene ratio varying from 2.56 to 2.41×103 in 8 WWTPs.•AOB may play more important role than AOA in the WWTPs studied.•Nitrososphaera cluster might be the worldwide distributed AOA species in WWTPs.•There may be versatile AOA ecotypes and some AOA may be not obligate autotrophic.•Nitrosomonas genus was the most dominant AOB species and showed higher diversity. This study investigated the diversity and abundance of AOA and AOB amoA genes in eight full-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Although the process principles and system operations of the eight WWTPs were different, quantitative real-time PCR measurements showed that AOB amoA genes outnumbered AOA amoA genes with the ratio varying from 2.56 to 2.41×103, and ammonia may be partially oxidized by AOA. Phylogenetic analyses based on cloning and sequencing showed that Nitrososphaera cluster was the most dominant AOA species and might be distributed worldwide, and Nitrosopumilis cluster was few. Statistical analysis indicated that there might be versatile AOA ecotypes and some AOA might be not obligate autotrophic. The Nitrosomonas europaea cluster and Nitrosomonas oligotropha cluster were the two most dominant AOB species, and AOB species showed higher diversity than AOA species.