Dynamics of polyphosphate-accumulating bacteria in wastewater treatment plant microbial communities detected via DAPI (4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole) and tetracycline labeling.

ABSTRACT: Wastewater treatment plants with enhanced biological phosphorus removal represent a state-of-the-art technology. Nevertheless, the process of phosphate removal is prone to occasional failure. One reason is the lack of knowledge about the structure and function of the bacterial communities involved. Most of the bacteria are still not cultivable, and their functions during the wastewater treatment process are therefore unknown or subject of speculation. Here, flow cytometry was used to identify bacteria capable of polyphosphate accumulation within highly diverse communities. A novel fluorescent staining technique for the quantitative detection of polyphosphate granules on the cellular level was developed. It uses the bright green fluorescence of the antibiotic tetracycline when it complexes

SUBMITTER: Gunther S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2663203 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature