Analysis of sulfate reducing bacterial diversity in anaerobic wastewater treatment reactors

Here we describe the development and application of a nested PCR-DGGE approach to study the diversity of sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) in different industrial bioreactors. The approach combines the use of general and specific primer sets to generate PCR products suitable for DGGE analysis. Subsequently the individual DGGE bands were excised and sequenced to determine the phylogenetic affiliation of the SRB. Preliminary results indicate that SRB belonging to the Desulfovibrio-Desulfomicrobium group were predominant in most of the bioreactors analysed, while populations of the Desulfotomaculum and Desulfiosarcina-Desulfonema-Desulfomonas group could only be observed when a nested PCR approach was applied. Desulfobulbus species were only identified in some of the reactors.