Changes in bacterial communities accompanied by aggregation in a fed-batch composting reactor

Abstract

The contents of fed-batch composting (FBC) reactors often aggregate after prolonged operation. This process leads to irreversible breakdown of the decomposition reaction and possible alteration of the bacterial communities. We compared the structures of bacterial communities in reactors under aggregate and optimal conditions. The results of 16S rRNA gene clone analysis showed that populations of the family Bacillaceae (such as Bacillus spp., Cerasibacillus spp., Gracilibacillus spp.), which dominate (98%) under optimal condition, were significantly decreased under aggregate condition. In contrast, populations of the family Staphylococcaceae considerably increased after aggregation and accounted for 53% of the total. Phylogenetic analysis also showed that anaerobes or facultative anaerobes related to Tetragenococcus halophilus, Atopostipes suicloacalis, Jeotgalicoccus pinnipedialis, and Staphylococcus spp. were dominant in the aggregates. These results suggested that aerobic Gram-positive bacteria mainly contributed to organic degradation and that aggregation created some anaerobic environment, which promoted the growth of bacterial communities usually not found in well-functioning FBC reactors.