Molecular-based evaluation of the influent and effluent microbial communities of membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems treating municipal wastewater

Given that the majority of pathogens in wastewater are not detectable by culture-based methods, a molecular-based approach would be necessary to understand the risks associated with the microbial communities of MBR effluents. The present study examines two MBR systems treating municipal wastewater, one a full-scale MBR plant and the other a lab-scale anaerobic MBR, by using high-throughput sequencing and PCR quantification. Results showed that each of the two MBR effluents’ microbial communities contained genera associated with opportunistic pathogens (e.g., Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter) with a wide-range of log reduction values.