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Bacterial structure and spatiotemporal distribution in a horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

In this study, bacterial community structure in a horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland (HSF-CW) planted with Phragmites australis was investigated using the 16S rRNA cloning–sequencing technique. Two layer depths were considered: the rhizosphere zone (RH) and the deep-layer zone (DL) in different sampling periods. Bacteria-specific primers 008F and 1492R were used to amplify the 16S rRNA genes and construct six clone libraries. A total of 1,284 individual sequences were used to assess the HSF-CW diversity. Phylogenetic analysis of RH and DL clone libraries shows that 41.57 and 42.17 % of the 16S rRNA sequences are affiliated with the Proteobacteria in the RH and the DL, respectively. The remaining major phylogenetic groups are Bacteroidetes, Planctomycetes, and Chloroflexi with 11.78, 9.36, and 7.6 %, respectively, in the RH and 11.38, 6.48, and 7.65 % in the DL, respectively. Minor divisions such as Verrucomicrobia, TM7, Nitrospira, and Gemmatimonadetes represented <6 % of the total sequences, while 14.2 % were unidentified Bacteria. Among the Proteobacteria, the Alphaproteobacteria subclass is represented in both locations, while the Deltaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria subclasses were predominant in the RH and the DL, respectively. Results suggest that Archaea and Bacteria in the HSF-CW are the essential actors in the nitrogen cycle and that the established microbial community is efficient in nitrogen removal from wastewater.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IG/CEA/CNRS-UMR 8030/Genoscope, 2 Rue Gaston Crémieux, 91057, Evry, France

    Moez Bouali, Ines Zrafi, Sébastien Chaussonnerie & Abdelghani Sghir

  2. Université d’Evry Val-d’Essonne, 50 Avenue François Mitterrand, 91025, Evry, France

    Abdelghani Sghir

  3. Laboratoire d’Analyses, Traitement et Valorisation des Polluants de l’Environnement et des Produits, Faculté de Pharmacie, Rue Avicenne 5000, Monastir, Tunisia

    Moez Bouali, Ines Zrafi & Amina Bakhrouf

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  1. Moez Bouali
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  2. Ines Zrafi
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  4. Sébastien Chaussonnerie
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  5. Abdelghani Sghir
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Correspondence to Moez Bouali.

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Bouali, M., Zrafi, I., Bakhrouf, A. et al. Bacterial structure and spatiotemporal distribution in a horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 98, 3191–3203 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-013-5341-8

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