Chromium(VI)-resistant yeast isolated from a sewage treatment plant receiving tannery wastes

A Cr(VI)-resistant yeast, designated strain DBVPG 6502, was isolated from a sewage treatment plant receiving wastes from tannery industries in Italy. The strain was tentatively identified as a species of Candida based on morphological and physiological analyses. This strain was highly resistant to Cr(VI) when compared with eight other yeast species, growing at Cr(VI) concentrations of up to 500 micrograms/ml (10 mM). This resistance was constitutive. The Cr(VI)-resistant yeast did not reduce Cr(VI) to Cr(III) species under aerobic conditions. The yeast showed very little accumulation of Cr(VI). Consequently, the mechanism of resistance of the yeast to Cr(VI) appears to involve reduced accumulation of Cr, as has been shown in Cr(VI)-resistant bacteria.     

Chromium(VI)-resistant yeast isolated from a sewage treatment plant receiving tannery wastes.

A Cr(VI)-resistant yeast, designated strain DBVPG 6502, was isolated from a sewage treatment plant receiving wastes from tannery industries in Italy. The strain was tentatively identified as a species of Candida based on morphological and physiological analyses. This strain was highly resistant to Cr(VI) when compared with eight other yeast species, growing at Cr(VI) concentrations of up to 500 micrograms/ml (10 mM). This resistance was constitutive. The Cr(VI)-resistant yeast did not reduce Cr(VI) to Cr(III) species under aerobic conditions. The yeast showed very little accumulation of Cr(VI). Consequently, the mechanism of resistance of the yeast to Cr(VI) appears to involve reduced accumulation of Cr, as has been shown in Cr(VI)-resistant bacteria.     

Phototrophic purple and green bacteria in a sewage treatment plant

In all purification stages of a biological sewage treatment plant, phototrophic bacteria were detected by the method of viable cell counts. The predominant species identified belonged to the genus Rhodopseudomonas of purple nonsulfur bacteria. The number of phototrophic bacteria was highest in wastewater containing sludge. In activated sludge, an average of 10(5) viable cells/ml was found; the number depended upon concentration of sludge rather than on seasonal changes in light conditions in the course of a year. Bacteriochlorophyll a was extracted from activated sludge. Relative to the viable counts of phototrophic bacteria, the content of bacteriochlorophyll a was 5- to 10-fold higher than that of three representative pure cultures. By incubation of activated and digester sludge under different environmental conditions, it was shown that phototrophic bacteria can complete with other bacteria only under anaerobic conditions in the light.     

De novo formation of organochlorines in a sewage treatment plant

The de novo formation of organochlorines was observed in a municipalsewage treatment plant. Due to this formation, the amount of organically boundhalogens (AOX) increased 15-fold inside the sewage treatment plant. Per day,more than 6 kg of organically-bound chlorine were produced. Thisformation is not based on a metabolism of present organochlorines, it is a denovo formation out of inorganic chloride and organic substrates. The AOXtriggerconcentration in sewage sludge in Germany is 500 mgkg^–1 and was sometimes exceeded by a factor of 10. Noknown anthropogenic organohalogens were found which could explain the elevatedAOX concentrations. Instead many chlorinated compounds could be identifiedwhichwere not known to be of anthropogenic origin. The compound with the highestconcentration was the 3,4-dichlorophenylacetic acid (3,4-CPAc). In one case,more than 1 g kg^–1 of this compound was detected.A slaughterhouse that emits phenylacetic acid is probably the origin of thatformation. In model experiments phenylacetic acid was chlorinated with HOCl butchlorinated phenylacetic acids other than 3,4-CPAc were found. Therefore it canbe excluded that the chlorination in the sewage treatment plant takes place byan abiotic reaction with hypochlorite that might have been introduced there. Weassume that the occurring microorganisms are responsible for the de novoformation in the sewage treatment plant. The obtained knowledge could also beuseful to understand natural chlorination processes.     

Phototrophic purple and green bacteria in a sewage treatment plant.

In all purification stages of a biological sewage treatment plant, phototrophic bacteria were detected by the method of viable cell counts. The predominant species identified belonged to the genus Rhodopseudomonas of purple nonsulfur bacteria. The number of phototrophic bacteria was highest in wastewater containing sludge. In activated sludge, an average of 10(5) viable cells/ml was found; the number depended upon concentration of sludge rather than on seasonal changes in light conditions in the course of a year. Bacteriochlorophyll a was extracted from activated sludge. Relative to the viable counts of phototrophic bacteria, the content of bacteriochlorophyll a was 5- to 10-fold higher than that of three representative pure cultures. By incubation of activated and digester sludge under different environmental conditions, it was shown that phototrophic bacteria can complete with other bacteria only under anaerobic conditions in the light.     

Tracking human sewage microbiome in a municipal wastewater treatment plant

Human sewage pollution is a major threat to public health because sewage always comes with pathogens. Human sewage is usually received and treated by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to control pathogenic risks and ameliorate environmental health. However, untreated sewage that flows into water environments may cause serious waterborne diseases, as reported in India and Bangladesh. To examine the fate of the human sewage microbiome in a local municipal WWTP of Hong Kong, we used massively parallel sequencing of 16S rRNA gene to systematically profile microbial communities in samples from three sections (i.e., influent, activated sludge, and effluent) obtained monthly throughout 1 year. The results indicated that: (1) influent sewage bacterial profile reflected the human microbiome; (2) human gut bacterial community was the dominant force shaping influent sewage bacterial profile; (3) most human sewage bacteria could be effectively removed by the WWTP; (4) a total of 75 genera were profiled as potentially pathogenic bacteria, most of which were still present in the effluent although at a very low level; (5) a grouped pattern of bacterial community was observed among the same section samples but a dispersed pattern was found among the different section samples; and (6) activated sludge was less affected by the influent sewage bacteria, but it showed a significant impact on the effluent bacteria. All of these findings provide novel insights toward a mechanistic understanding of the fate of human sewage microbiome in the WWTP.     

Sampling strategy for detecting viruses in a sewage treatment plant

[This corrects the article on p. 1769 in vol. 45.].     

Changes in water and sediment bacterial community structure in a lake receiving acid mine drainage

Water and sediment bacterial communities in a freshwater impoundment were studied over a 13-month period for stress-related responses to a point source of acid mine drainage (AMD). Comparisons of community structure were made on collections taken at the mouth of the acid stream, at a point 2 km downstream, and at the mouth of an uncontaminated stream. Monthly measurements of pH and specific conductance indicated the expected decrease in the AMD pollution with increasing distance from the source. Acridine orange direct counts did not differ significantly among the sites; however significantly fewer viable heterotrophs were observed by plate counts at the acid impacted station relative to the uncontaminated site. The diversity of the communities was significantly lower at the sites receiving mine drainage as compared with the unaffected station, and comparisons of community similarity showed that collections from the impacted sites were more like each other than like the control site. The assemblage at the latter site contained many bacterial guilds not found at the contaminated sites. The guilds unique to the control site showed a reduced in vitro ability to tolerate heavy metals as compared with the general community.     

The effect of a sewage treatment plant effluent on the faecal coliforms and enterococci populations of the reception river waters

AIMS: A rural sewage treatment plant and the effect of its effluent on the enterococci and faecal coliforms populations of the receiving river waters was evaluated. METHODS AND RESULTS: The enumeration of bacteria was performed by membrane filtration. Diversity and population similarity were analysed using the PhP-plates system. The treatment plant reduces the number of enterococci and faecal coliforms to values similar to those observed upstream. All water samples showed a high diversity for both bacterial populations. A high similarity in the composition and structure, was detected among all the samples. CONCLUSIONS: The impact of the disposal of treated sewage on the river did not modify the composition of either bacterial populations in the river water. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMAPCT OF THE STUDY: The biochemical phenotyping of bacterial populations is a reliable tool for ecological and biodiversity studies. The obtained results provide a better understanding of the sewage treatment process and the impact of the treated sewage effluents in the environment.     

Dynamics of size structure in plant populations

The size structure of populations is important for the study of the life histories and evolution of plant species. Many aspects of the dynamics of size structure as affected by species characteristics and environmental conditions have been interpreted well by recent models.     

Detection and enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes in a sewage treatment plant in Iraq

Listeria monocytogenes was isolated from a sewage treatment plant in Baghdad, Iraq, at all stages of treatment. The treatment processes did not yield a sewage sludge cake or a final discharge free of listerias. The agricultural practice of using such sewage products as fertilizers could become a route of spreading the organism in Iraq, particularly by infecting animals that consume vegetation in fields spread with such sewage. Dewatering of sewage reduced the number of L. monocytogenes but long periods of exposure to sun would be needed to obtain a 'safe' sewage sludge cake.     

Detection and enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes in a sewage treatment plant in Iraq

Listeria monocytogenes was isolated from a sewage treatment plant in Baghdad, Iraq, at all stages of treatment. The treatment processes did not yield a sewage sludge cake or a final discharge free of listerias. The agricultural practice of using such sewage products as fertilizers could become a route of spreading the organism in Iraq, particularly by infecting animals that consume vegetation in fields spread with such sewage. Dewatering of sewage reduced the number of L. monocytogenes but long periods of exposure to sun would be needed to obtain a 'safe' sewage sludge cake.     

Effect of plant growth on dehydration rates and microbial populations in sewage biosolids

The high water content of sewage biosolids makes them expensive to transport. Two experiments were done to see if it was practical to use transpiration by plants as a low cost method to dehydrate biosolids. (i) To assess biosolids as a growth-medium for plants, maize, beans, pumpkin, forage oats and an annual ryegrass were grown in pots of fresh biosolids. Plant growth varied between species and potassium deficiency was found to be a limiting factor for barley. Roots were slow to penetrate anoxic biosolids in the bottom of the pots. (ii) Dehydration rates were measured in 30 litre boxes of biosolids from two different sources. Boxes were planted with maize or beans, or kept fallow. Despite the high (73-83%) initial water content of the biosolids, plants were susceptible to wilting on warm days which suggested that a significant proportion of the water in biosolids is not freely available to plants. Shrinkage caused a major reduction in biosolids volume in both experiments. When change in volume of the biosolids residue was accounted for, there was a 56% average water loss in planted treatments and 34% water loss in the fallow treatment. This indicates that planting may have some potential as a technique to accelerate dehydration of biosolids. Water contents were not reduced sufficiently to influence biosolids microbial populations.     

Sampling strategy for detecting viruses in a sewage treatment plant.

A study of pollutant flows was carried out at a wastewater treatment plant in Nancy, France, which used activated-sludge treatment. To carry out observation of hourly flow variation, a sampling strategy needs to be defined. A comparison between two methods of sampling was conducted: dip samples every 2 h over a period of 24 h and one 24-h composite sample were taken from raw and treated wastewater and then analyzed for enteroviruses, fecal coliforms, chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, and suspended solids. The results showed that the hourly variations of these pollutants in the effluents are in good agreement with expectations based upon the customers' usage and the characteristics of the wastewater network. Significant correlations were found between all tested parameters and enteroviruses in raw wastewater. After biological treatment, no correlation remained in treated wastewater between viruses and other parameters. As for the two sampling methods, a rather good representation of the daily load was given by the composite mode of sampling as concerns physicochemical and microbiological parameters. Biological treatment removed an average of 83% of viruses.     

Diversity and population structure of sewage‐derived microorganisms in wastewater treatment plant influent

The release of untreated sewage introduces non‐indigenous microbial populations of uncertain composition into surface waters. We used massively parallel 454 pyrosequencing of hypervariable regions in rRNA genes to profile microbial communities from eight untreated sewage influent samples of two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in metropolitan Milwaukee. The sewage profiles included a discernible human faecal signature made up of several taxonomic groups including multiple Bifidobacteriaceae, Coriobacteriaceae, Bacteroidaceae, Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae genera. The faecal signature made up a small fraction of the taxa present in sewage but the relative abundance of these sequence tags mirrored the population structures of human faecal samples. These genera were much more prevalent in the sewage influent than standard indicators species. High‐abundance sequences from taxonomic groups within the Beta‐ and Gammaproteobacteria dominated the sewage samples but occurred at very low levels in faecal and surface water samples, suggesting that these organisms proliferate within the sewer system. Samples from Jones Island (JI – servicing residential plus a combined sewer system) and South Shore (SS – servicing a residential area) WWTPs had very consistent community profiles, with greater similarity between WWTPs on a given collection day than the same plant collected on different days. Rainfall increased influent flows at SS and JI WWTPs, and this corresponded to greater diversity in the community at both plants. Overall, the sewer system appears to be a defined environment with both infiltration of rainwater and stormwater inputs modulating community composition. Microbial sewage communities represent a combination of inputs from human faecal microbes and enrichment of specific microbes from the environment to form a unique population structure.     

Seed migration and the structure of plant populations

Summary We use chemical typing to compare sub-populations of thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) growing in the channels of several ravines where seed migration is expected from sub-populations on the plateu to associated basin subpopulations. The results indicate that seed migration does occur. However, there is little effective gene flow between sub-populations. We discuss the implications of restricted gene flow for population dynamics and structure.