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Defining microbial community composition and seasonal variation in a sewage treatment plant in India using a down-flow hanging sponge reactor

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

The characteristics of the microbial community in a practical-scale down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) reactor, high in organic matter and sulfate ion concentration, and the seasonal variation of the microbial community composition were investigated. Microorganisms related to sulfur oxidation and reduction (2–27%), as well as Leucobacter (7.50%), were abundant in the reactor. Anaerobic bacteria (27–38% in the first layer) were also in abundance and were found to contribute to the removal of organic matter from the sewage in the reactor. By comparing the Simpson index, the abundance-based coverage estimator (ACE) index, and the species composition of the microbial community across seasons (summer/dry, summer/rainy, autumn/dry, and winter/dry), the microbial community was found to change in composition only during the winter season. In addition to the estimation of seasonal variation, the difference in the microbial community composition along the axes of the DHS reactor was investigated for the first time. Although the abundance of each bacterial species differed along both axes of the reactor, the change of the community composition in the reactor was found to be greater along the vertical axis than the horizontal axis of the DHS reactor.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD); Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEF); the Indian government; and Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (UPJN) for extending various forms of assistance. We also thank Mr. A. Noori and Mr. P. Sjati for contributing to the experiments in India.

Funding

This study was funded by the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) in Japan.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Energy and Environment Science, Nagaoka University of Technology, 1603-1, Kamitomioka Nagaoka, Niigata, 940-2188, Japan

    Naoki Nomoto

  2. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Ube College, Tokiwadai, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8555, Japan

    Naoki Nomoto

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nagaoka University of Technology, 1603-1, Kamitomioka Nagaoka, Niigata, 940-2188, Japan

    Masashi Hatamoto

  4. Department of Science of Technology Innovation, Nagaoka University of Technology, 1603-1, Kamitomioka Nagaoka, Niigata, 940-2188, Japan

    Yuga Hirakata & Takashi Yamaguchi

  5. New Industry Creation Hatchery Center, Tohoku University, 6-6-04 Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8579, Japan

    Muntjeer Ali, Masanobu Takahashi & Hideki Harada

  6. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee-Haridwar Highway, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India

    Komal Jayaswal

  7. Faculty of Applied Life Sciences, Niigata University of Pharmacy and Applied Life Sciences, 265-1, Higashisima, Akiba-ku, Niigata, Niigata, 956-8603, Japan

    Akinori Iguchi

  8. Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Kisarazu College, 2-11-1, Kiyomidaihigashi, Kisarazu, Chiba, 292-0041, Japan

    Tsutomu Okubo & Shigeki Uemura

  9. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-06 Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8579, Japan

    Kengo Kubota

  10. Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Kagawa College, 355, Tyokusimachi, Takamatsu, Kagawa, 761-8058, Japan

    Tadashi Tagawa

Authors
  1. Naoki Nomoto
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  2. Masashi Hatamoto
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  3. Yuga Hirakata
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  4. Muntjeer Ali
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  5. Komal Jayaswal
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  6. Akinori Iguchi
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  9. Kengo Kubota
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  11. Shigeki Uemura
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  12. Takashi Yamaguchi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Takashi Yamaguchi.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Nomoto, N., Hatamoto, M., Hirakata, Y. et al. Defining microbial community composition and seasonal variation in a sewage treatment plant in India using a down-flow hanging sponge reactor. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 102, 4381–4392 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-018-8864-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-018-8864-1

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