Microbial community changes during the start-up of an anaerobic/aerobic/anoxic-type sequencing batch reactor

Abstract

An anaerobic/aerobic/anoxic-type sequencing batch reactor was started up during a summer rainy season to obtain enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR), and its sludge microbial community was also monitored in the hope of observing the microbial community evolution of polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs). During the start-up process, a total of 17 bands of highest species richness were detected in the sludge microbial community, including Alpha-, Beta-, and Gamma- Proteobacteria, as well as Actinobacteria and Planctomycetes. Major microbial community structural change was observed in Rhodocyclus-related and Acinetobacter-related PAOs, glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs), and Actinobacteria. In contrast to the current belief that enrichment of PAOs is essential for the establishment of EBPR, PAOs were not favourably enriched in this study. Instead, Actinobacteria and GAOs overwhelmingly flourished. The overall conclusion of this study challenges the conventional view that EBPR cannot live without traditional PAOs. However, it suggests an non-negligible role of denitrifying phosphorus-accumulating bacteria in EBPR systems, as well as other uncultured bacteria.