Population dynamics of chromate reducing bacteria in a bioreactor system developed for the treatment of chromate wastewater

The population dynamics of microbes was investigated in a bioreactor system for the treatment of chromate wastewater supplemented with chromate reducing bacteria Enterobacter cloacae strain HO-1. In this study, respiratory quinone profile and PCR techniques were used to analyse the microbial population. The change in microbial community structure and density was observed on the basis of the respiratory quinone profile since the predominant quinone of HO-1 is ubiquinone-8 (Q-8) and the amount of quinone is proportional to the cell mass. the quantity of microbes and the Q-8 fraction of the total quinones were increased after cultivation with aeration, while long-term operation brought about a decrease in the fraction of Q-8. In addition, the amount of HO-1 was determined by the PCR amplification rate under conditions where the amplification was exponential to the reaction cycles. The cell density of HO-1 and total microbes determined from these procedures compared well with the numbers of HO-1 cells counted selectively using agar plates containing chromate.