Coexistence of an autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacterium (Nitrosomonas sp. RA) and heterotrophic bacteria was consistently observed when cultured in an inorganic medium without any external supply of organic carbon. The present study was undertaken to understand the association between autotrophs and the associated heterotrophs for which a system containing active autotrophs and heterotrophs controlled by Hg(2+) addition was developed. The study revealed interdependence of heterotrophs and Nitrosomonas sp. RA for growth under iron-limited condition. Growth of Nitrosomonas sp. RA was supported by siderophores produced by the associated heterotroph, Pusillimonas sp., thereby complementing its high iron requirement while the organics (such as pyruvate) excreted by Nitrosomonas sp. RA during its autotrophic growth supported the survival of heterotrophs in the inorganic medium. The study thus sheds light on the nature of the mutual interactions between heterotrophs and autotrophs that play a role in the ammonia-oxidizing system involved in wastewater treatment.
Three isolates viz. Lysinibacillus sp. HT13, Alcaligenes sp. HT15 and Proteus sp. HT37 isolated from fish processing effluent and having a C/N ratio of 2, removed 218, 169, and 400 µg cell(-1) day(-1) NH4(+)-N, respectively without subsequent build up of nitrite or nitrate. Ability of the selected isolates in removing NH4(+)-N, NO2(-)-N, and NO3(-)-N was checked in the presence of four commonly reported and tested effluent carbon sources viz. pyruvate, glycerol, methanol, and acetate. Further, when supplemented to fish processing wastewater containing 234 ppm total Kjeldahl's nitrogen, Lysinibacillus sp. HT13, Alcaligenes sp. HT15, and Proteus sp. HT37 could remediate 95.74, 86.17, and 76.6% nitrogen, respectively in 48 h. This is the first report of a Lysinibacillus sp. carrying out aerobically the process of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification. The results demonstrate the potential of the isolates for use in treatment of fish processing effluents and demonstrating the efficient removal of ammonia.
Nitrosomonas genus belongs to beta-subclass of Proteobacteria and encompasses closely related species. Sequence independent techniques like single strand confirmation polymorphism (SSCP) was attempted in the present study to resolve AOB using ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) and hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (hao) gene fragments, unique to AOB. Variation in hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (HAO) enzyme zymogram of isolates observed in the study was also explored as an additional sequence independent method to substantiate the observations. Nitrosomonas europaea (standard strain) and 12 isolates, obtained by enriching environmental samples, were differentiated into six and four groups by SSCP analyses of amoA and hao gene fragments, respectively, whereas they could be resolved into six distinct groups through activity staining of HAO enzyme. amoA gene fragment was therefore found to be better than hao gene fragment in resolving the studied AOB based on richness and evenness with Simpson's index of diversity - 0.85. However, the ensembled use of these molecular methods (SSCP of amoA and hao gene fragments) and HAO enzyme zymogram in fingerprinting AOB provide better resolution and evenness, contributing significantly in AOB diversity studies. Grouping of AOB isolates by hao gene SSCP analysis followed almost the same pattern as that by 16S rRNA gene based sequence analysis, hence it is suitable as a phylogenetic marker.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.