Seasonal variation and ex-situ nitrification activity of ammonia oxidizing archaea in biofilm based wastewater treatment processes

Abstract The abundance of ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) was investigated in full-scale two-stage trickling filters (TF) and moving bed bioreactor (MBBR) treating municipal wastewater. Biofilm samples were collected for 17 months from nitrifying TF (NTF), biochemical oxygen demand TF (BTF), and MBBR media. The abundance of AOA and AOB was determined using a quantitative PCR approach targeting the ammonia monooxygenase subunit A gene of archaea and bacteria. AOA were dominant in the NTF and MBBR, while AOB dominated in the BTF. AOA and AOB were more abundant during warmer months, and AOA were detected in the BTF only during warmer months. In laboratory nitrification activity experiments, ammonia oxidation to nitrite decreased when AOA populations from the NTF and MBBR were inhibited, demonstrating that AOA contributed to nitrification. This study has shown that AOA outnumber AOB and contribute to ammonia oxidation in full-scale nitrifying biofilm processes.