US EPA

2976197 

Journal Article 

Simultaneous nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane and ammonium oxidation processes 

Luesken, FA; Sánchez, J; van Alen, TA; Sanabria, J; Op den Camp, HJ; Jetten, MS; Kartal, B 

2011 

Yes 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology
ISSN: 0099-2240
EISSN: 1098-5336 

77 

19 

6802-6807 

English 

21841030 

10.1128/AEM.05539-11 

WOS:000295123300009 

Nitrite-dependent anaerobic oxidation of methane (n-damo) and ammonium (anammox) are two recently discovered processes in the nitrogen cycle that are catalyzed by n-damo bacteria, including "Candidatus Methylomirabilis oxyfera," and anammox bacteria, respectively. The feasibility of coculturing anammox and n-damo bacteria is important for implementation in wastewater treatment systems that contain substantial amounts of both methane and ammonium. Here we tested this possible coexistence experimentally. To obtain such a coculture, ammonium was fed to a stable enrichment culture of n-damo bacteria that still contained some residual anammox bacteria. The ammonium supplied to the reactor was consumed rapidly and could be gradually increased from 1 to 20 mM/day. The enriched coculture was monitored by fluorescence in situ hybridization and 16S rRNA and pmoA gene clone libraries and activity measurements. After 161 days, a coculture with about equal amounts of n-damo and anammox bacteria was established that converted nitrite at a rate of 0.1 kg-N/m(3)/day (17.2 mmol day(-1)). This indicated that the application of such a coculture for nitrogen removal may be feasible in the near future.