Diversity of anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria in anaerobic lagoons and facultative stabilization pond used in treatment of sewage

The objective of this study was to identify the anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria in the anaerobic lagoons and facultative stabilization pond of the Vale do Ribeira, Cajati, São Paulo, Brazil, and their correlation with physical and chemical parameters of the ponds’ water. The samples were collected seasonally (spring, summer, autumn and winter) in the sub-surface, intermediate layer and sediment-water interface. We used the PCR/DGGE with pufM 557FGC and pufM 750R primers specific to the reaction center of the photosynthetic phototrophic bacteria for their identification. The amplification products were separated by electrophoresis on denaturing gradient gel. From the bands cut out and sequenced from DGGE, the identified bacteria were Rhodopseudomonas palustris (99% similarity), Chromatium sp. (92%), Thiocapsa sp. (90%), Rhodospirillum sp. (95%), Roseobacter sp. (93%) and other uncultured bacteria.