Resuscitation of starved suspended- and attached-growth anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria with and without acetate

Anammox application for nutrient removal from wastewater is increasing, though questions remain about anammox resilience to fluctuating conditions. Resuscitation of anammox suspended- and attached-growth cultures after 3 months of starvation was studied with and without acetate dosing. Without acetate, the attached-growth culture recovered more quickly than the suspended-growth culture. Suspended-growth cultures recovered more quickly (within 60 days) with weekly and daily acetate dosing than without, but anammox activity and copy numbers decreased with continued acetate addition. All attached-growth cultures recovered within 60 days, but after that activity with acetate dosing was consistently at least 20% lower than that without acetate addition. Ca. Jettenia caeni, Ca. Anammoxoglobus sp., Ca. Brocadia fulgida, Ca. Brocadia anammoxidans, Ca. Brocadia fulgida and Ca. Jettenia asiatica were identified. Acetate addition can significantly accelerate short-term resuscitation of enriched anammox suspended-growth cultures after starvation but may reduce anammox activity over the longer term in suspended- and attached-growth cultures.