Community Composition of Known and Uncultured Archaeal Lineages in Anaerobic or Anoxic Wastewater Treatment Sludge

• Published in: Microbial ecology Vol. 69; no. 3; pp. 586 - 596
• Main Authors: Kuroda, Kyohei, Hatamoto, Masashi, Nakahara, Nozomi, Abe, Kenichi, Takahashi, Masanobu, Araki, Nobuo, Yamaguchi, Takashi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer-Verlag 01.04.2015; Springer; Springer US; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aerobiosis; Anaerobiosis; Archaea; Archaea - genetics; Archaea - isolation & purification; Archaea - metabolism; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Community composition; community structure; Deep sea; denitrification; DNA, Archaeal - genetics; DNA, Archaeal - metabolism; Ecology; ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY; Euryarchaeota; genes; Geoecology/Natural Processes; Japan; Life Sciences; methanogens; Microbial Ecology; Microbiology; Microbiota; Molecular Sequence Data; Nature Conservation; Nitrogen; Phylogeny; phylotype; ribosomal RNA; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - metabolism; sequence analysis; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Sewage - microbiology; Sludge; Waste Disposal, Fluid; Waste Water - microbiology; wastewater; Wastewater treatment; Water Quality/Water Pollution; Japan; Diversity analysis; 16S rRNA gene sequencing; Uncultured lineages; Anaerobic wastewater treatment sludge; Archaeal community composition
• ISSN: 0095-3628; 1432-184X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00248-014-0525-z

Microbial systems are widely used to treat different types of wastewater from domestic, agricultural, and industrial sources. Community composition is an important factor in determining the successful performance of microbial treatment systems; however, a variety of uncultured and unknown lineages exist in sludge that requires identification and characterization. The present study examined the archaeal community composition in methanogenic, denitrifying, and nitrogen-/phosphate-removing wastewater treatment sludge by Archaea-specific 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis using Illumina sequencing technology. Phylotypes belonging to Euryarchaeota, including methanogens, were most abundant in all samples except for nitrogen-/phosphate-removing wastewater treatment sludge. High levels of Deep Sea Hydrothermal Vent Group 6 (DHVEG-6), WSA2, Terrestrial Miscellaneous Euryarchaeotal Group, and Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotic Group were also detected. Interestingly, DHVEG-6 was dominant in nitrogen-/phosphate-removing wastewater treatment sludge, indicating that unclear lineages of Archaea still exist in the anaerobic wastewater treatment sludges. These results reveal a previously unknown diversity of Archaea in sludge that can potentially be exploited for the development of more efficient wastewater treatment strategies.