Chapter 25 - Application of molecular biological tools to monitor process efficiency

Abstract

Biological wastewater treatment using biotechnological methods is one of the most important processes in the handling of industrial wastewater. The efficacy and efficiency of its service depends on the present microbial community’s composition and behavior. The use of traditional and molecular techniques has provided a glimpse into the closed box in recent years and has provided information to improve the treatment of wastewater. Modern biological techniques have limitations on the study of kinetics of microbial growth. New and advanced molecular diagnostic methods change the way we practice to detect and interpret microbial behavior that is useful for the provision of phylogenetic data. To fully understand these cultures, novel molecular biological techniques combined with visualization methods and chemical analyses are required. In view of key genes and their regulation in the environment, developments in metagenomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics have been made. The genomic age has led to the development of new molecular tools and techniques for the study of culturable microbial diversity including DNA base ratio, hybridization of DNA-DNA, microarray of DNA, and genome testing of reverse samples. It also provides information regarding microbial group structures, dynamics, and tracking system functions. This chapter focuses on applying advanced visualization techniques as well as new molecular methods that can expose the functions of complex microbial group structures.