Elucidation of Microbial Diversity in Wastewater Treatment System Through Molecular Tools: Molecular Tools, Techniques, and Applications in Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

Large amounts of urban sewage are generated every day from suburban, commercial, and industrial establishments, which contain pathogenic microorganisms that adversely affect the water quality and are potential hazards for aqueous life and human health. In order to engineer the most advantageous technique for removal of these contaminants from wastewater, it is essential to understand and analyze microbial community structure. For the last couple of decades, molecular techniques have been applied for examining the complex microbial ecology in wastewater and estimating the microbiological quality of water and its ability to remove viruses from wastewater treatment plants. Earlier, identification and study of the microbial species was carried out by isolating and characterizing species by growing them on commercial cultural media. The majority of microorganisms cannot be studied in the laboratory, as they do not grow in a laboratory environment. However, due to the recent development of various culture-independent molecular techniques, it is now possible to evaluate and study the structure and function of various microorganisms in wastewater treatment systems. Several molecular techniques are now available for analysis of viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and human viruses. This chapter discusses the concept of various molecular techniques and tools used in understanding microbial diversity in wastewater treatment.