Ammonia-oxidizing Archaea in laboratory-scale activated sludge systems for wastewater of low- or high-ammonium concentration

Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) is known as ammonia-oxidizer in wastewater treatment systems. However, ammonia-oxidizing Archaea (AOA) is found from various environments, including wastewater treatment systems. In this study, to investigate the relationships between AOA population and ammonia concentration, AOA was monitored in two laboratory-scale reactors treating artificial wastewater of different ammonium concentrations by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis targeting ammonia monooxygenase genes. At day 60 of the operation, AOA populations dominant in each reactor differed, suggesting the importance of influent ammonia concentration in dominant AOA selection.