sewage water treatment: researchers in the footsteps of Nitrospira bacteria

WWTF project for the optimization of treatment systems

In order to optimize the sewage water treatment in the future even more, researchers investigate Holger DAIM by the Department of Microbial Ecology at the University of Vienna in its current WWTF project Nitrospira bacteria.

"These bacteria, which in the removal of nitrogen from sewage water play a significant role, are still largely unexplored, because they can not be grown as pure cultures in the laboratory," said DAIM against press text. Using modern molecular biological means, the researchers will now solve this mystery.
"In addition to waste water are phosphates and other chemical substances and large quantities of nitrogen," explains DAIM. If one were to take these amounts into natural waters, it would lead to the eutrophication of the water. Therefore, the sewage water must be removed by nitrogen. "Nitrite-oxidizing assume an important part of this mission bacteria (NOB) living in sewage sludge," says the researcher. Depending on the system about two to ten percent of all bacteria belonging to the genus Nitrospira in sewage sludge.
In modern sewage treatment plants thousands of different types of bacteria live in a complex community. They play in the degradation of pollutants an important role. Until now, the processes were unclear. "In order to shed light on the matter, we have sequenced a genome of a Nitrospira strain. Now we want to win with fellow researchers at the Department of Molecular Systems Biology in Vienna and the University of Hamburg further information by genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics." The analysis of uncultured bacteria is a particular challenge, because there in the samples taken in addition to other Nitrospira bacteria. "The more we learn about the organisms, the higher is the chance that we can do it at some point, to cultivate them in pure culture. Then additional experiments would be possible that without such cultures still are not feasible," said DAIM.



Nitrospira bacteria are being used in sewage treatment plants, but also in the nature of the arctic to hot springs before. "When they walk the NOB to the recycling of nitrogen liberated nitrite to nitrate." It is this fact that scientists are particularly interested because the nitrite oxidation is a meager living, in the amount of energy can not be won. Despite the rather difficult niche Nitrospira are among the most common bacteria. "We want to determine the role of microorganisms in nature. The focus is also their coexistence with other organisms, symbiosis, as well as the role played by micro-organisms to humans."
The scheduled for three and a half year research project could eventually contribute to the improvement of sewage water treatment. "Our role is not to design sewage treatment plants, but find out something about the bacteria that are important in the Appendices. This biological knowledge we share love with the engineers who design the sewage water treatment plants and eventually build," said DAIM. Especially for developing countries that are still often can not afford expensive treatment plants, sewage water treatment, such an optimization would be an advantage.