Presence and Growth of Ammonia-oxidizing Bacteria in Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation Enrichment

Abstract

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (AMX) is a cost-efficient biological nitrogen removal process. The coexistence of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in an AMX reactor is an interesting research topic as a nitrogen-related bacterial consortium. In this study, a sequencing batch reactor for AMX (AMX-SBR) was operated with a conventional activated sludge. The AOB in an AMX bioreactor were identified and quantified using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and real-time qPCR. A T-RFLP assay based on the ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (amoA) gene sequences showed the presence of Nitrosomonas europaea-like AOB in the AMX-SBR. A phylogenetic tree based on the sequenced amoA gene showed that AOB were affiliated with the Nitrosomonas europaea/mobilis cluster. Throughout the enrichment period, the AOB population was stable with predominant Nitrosomonas europaea-like AOB. Two OTUs of amoA_SBR_JJY_20 (FJ577843) and amoA_SBR_JJY_9 (FJ577849) are similar to the clones from AMX-related environments. Real-time qPCR was used to quantify AOB populations over time. Interestingly, the exponential growth of AOB populations was observed during the substrate inhibition of the AMX bacteria. The specific growth rate of AOB under anaerobic conditions was only 0.111 d-1. The growth property of Nitrosomonas europaea-like AOB may provide fundamental information about the metabolic relationship between the AMX bacteria and AOB.