Analysis of microbial community in a deodorization biofilter by PCR-SSCP method

Microbial community of biofilm in a biofiltration was investigated using PCR-SSCP (single strand conformation polymorphism) technique in this paper. The results indicated the removal rate of odor pollutants improved with the acclimation, from 50% to 89%, and the microbial diversity of biofilter decreased at the first month and then increased (diversity index H from 1.6-1.9 to 2.0) while the similarity gradually increased during the operation time. Higher microbial diversity (H = 2.2) in cortex indicated the microorganisms were easily attached to the media compared to the straw (H = 2.0). Dominant bacteria were Bacillus found in the biofilm using SSCP method, and the rate is 33.3%. 44.4% of the total bands represented the uncultured bacteria. These bacteria are widely existed in soil, water and nature environment, they have good acclimatization to environment and played important role in treating odors. The biofilm development was identified by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which suggested that the microbial community in biofilter could grow by utilizing pollutants and become rich and stable with running time.