Microbial community drivers during anaerobic granulation at high salinity. saline UASB reactors

In the present study, two different experimental set-up where used to follow granule formation in UASB reactors working at low (5 g/L Na+) and high (20 g/L Na+), also comparing the aggregation performances with or without protein substrates. By combining comparative analyses of bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA gene (by means of next generation sequencing (NGS) and clone inventories), together with microscopy techniques (scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fluorescence microscopy), the objective of this work was to understand the microbial key-players favouring the granulation phenomenon in high-salinity conditions.