TITLE:
Composition and Molecular Identification of Bacterial Community in Seawater Desalination Plants
AUTHORS:
Pilar Garcia-Jimenez, Marina Carrasco-Acosta, Carlos Enrique Payá, Irina Alemán López, Juana Rosa Betancort Rodríguez, José Alberto Herrera Melián
KEYWORDS:
Biofouling, Bacteria, 16s rRNA, Reverse Osmosis Membrane, Pseudomonas sp., Sphingomonas sp.
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Microbiology,
Vol.9 No.10,
October
21,
2019
ABSTRACT: Biofouling is an important problem for reverse osmosis (RO) membrane manufacturers. Bacteria are mainly involved in generating fouling and obturating RO membranes. Insights into biofilm bacteria composition could help prevent biofouling, reduce the cost of using RO-fouling membranes and guarantee safe water. Culture-dependent and independent techniques were then performed in order to identify bacteria associated with RO membranes. Bacteria cultures described the presence of six pure colonies, four of which were identified through API testing. Based on 16s rRNA gene analysis, a predominant bacterium was identified and annotated as Sphingomonas sp. The 16s rRNA gene clone library, on the other hand, showed that the bacterium, Pseudomonas marincola, accounted for nearly 30% of the clone library, while the rest of bacteria were chimeras (62%) and non-representative species (3%). In conclusion, culture-dependent and independent approaches showed that two dominant bacteria were commonly observed in RO desalination membranes.