Bacterial community dynamics in a functionally stable pilot-scale wastewater treatment plant

To determine whether functional stability was correlated with a stable microbial community structure in a functionally stable pilot-scale wastewater treatment plant, bacterial communities in the system were monitored over a one-year period. Bacterial community dynamics was characterized by the terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) of 16S rRNA genes. During the study period, the effluent BOD concentrations were very stable, with the average BOD concentration below 10 mg/L. The effluent TN concentrations were always below 20 mg/L, except for the first 40 days. T-RFLP results showed that, during the test period, the bacterial community structures were not stable, with an average change rate (every 15 days) of 20.4% ± 11.2%. Based on Lorenz distribution curves, it was observed that 20% of the species corresponded with 40–77% of cumulative relative abundances. Results clearly revealed that, in the pilot-scale wastewater treatment plant, functional stability did not correlate with stable bacterial communities.