Influence of support material properties on the potential selection of Archaea during initial adhesion of a methanogenic consortium

In anaerobic wastewater treatment systems, the complex microbial biomass including Archaea and Bacteria can be retained as a biofilm attached to solid supports. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of specific properties of support material on early microbial adhesion. Seven different substrata are described in terms of topography and surface energy. Adhesion of a methanogenic consortium to these substrata was tested, the adhesion was quantified as a percentage of the surface area covered and the bacterial and archaeal community structures was assessed by molecular fingerprinting profiles (CE-SSCP). As expected, the overall adhesion on the supports was influenced mainly by total surface energy. Moreover, the adhered communities were different from the parent inocula, including the Archaea/Bacteria ratio. This could have a significant impact on the start-up of anaerobic digesters for which supports favoring Archaea adhesion, responsible for the limiting reaction of the process, should be preferred.