TITLE:
A Case Study on Microbial Diversity Impacts of a Wastewater Treatment Plant to the Receiving River
AUTHORS:
Hongfei Zhu, Bailian Li, Ning Ding, Zheng Hua, Xiaoxu Jiang
KEYWORDS:
rRNA Sequencing, Microbial Community, Impact, Primer, Wastewater
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.9 No.4,
April
27,
2021
ABSTRACT: The discharge from
wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) into the receiving river is of concern for
the health of the ecosystem. In this study, the microbial diversity impact of Fuxin Meng (FM) WWTP was
completed with three pairs of primers. At the time of impact assessment,
biochemical tests were carried out as well to investigate the water
quality downstream and upstream FMWWTP. The general results showed this plant
increased downstream biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand
(COD) by 4.3- and 8.1-fold respectively, in comparison with the upstream. The
microbial diversity impact from the plant was also investigated with three
pairs of universal primers targeting rRNA genes and the internal transcribed
spacer (ITS) by high-throughput sequencing. The downstream diversity of the
bacterial and fungal communities was generally higher than upstream, with the
exception of the eukaryotic community. Both biochemical and microbial assessments
suggested that FMWWTP deteriorate Xi River water quality, potentially acting as
a pollutive source. Of the receiving water. Accordingly, it was necessary to improve the operation of
WWTP to live up to the environmental quality standards.