Neutrophilic iron-oxidizing bacteria: occurrence and relevance in biological drinking water treatment

Rapid sand filtration (RSF) is an economical way to treat anoxic groundwater around the world. It consists of groundwater aeration followed by passage through a sand filter. The oxidation and removal of ferrous iron, which is commonly found in anoxic groundwaters, is often believed to be a fully physicochemical process. However, persistently low temperatures in RSF across Denmark may negatively affect the kinetics of chemical oxidation. The slower chemical oxidation of ferrous iron may increase the chances for iron bioconversion by neutrophilic iron-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB), which are found naturally in many environments. In this study, we used a combination of a cultivation-based opposing gradient enrichment technique and 16S rRNA gene targeted molecular tools to isolate, quantify and identify FeOB from a RSF. The microscopic quantification of selectively enriched FeOB cells revealed that in RSF, neutrophilic iron oxidizers were present at the level of up to 7 × 10⁵ cells g⁻¹ sediment. The spatial abundance and diversity of FeOB inferred by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis fingerprinting differed greatly both between and within individual sand filters. The results suggest a larger than assumed role of FeOB in iron removal at waterworks using RSF technologies.