A microbial community structure of granules harvested from an anaerobic sludge blanket reactor treating phenolic wastewater was investigated using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and clone library construction. Clones of Syntrophorhabdaceae and Cryptanaerobacter were observed to be responsible for phenol degradation. For accurate taxonomic assignment of Cryptanaerobacter clones, phylogenetic analysis using nearly full-length 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequences was necessary. Three oligonucleotide probes were designed to detect the following three taxonomic groups: Syntrophorhabdaceae, Cryptanaerobacter, and Syntrophus. FISH analysis of thin sections of anaerobic granules showed a random distribution of bacteria and archaea. However, a well-defined distribution of Syntrophorhabdaceae, Cryptanaerobacter, and Syntrophus was observed. Cryptanaerobacter and Syntrophus were found on the outer layer of the granules and were closely associated with each other, while Syntrophorhabdaceae was located in the deeper part of the granules. Such specific distribution of the bacteria is most likely due to their metabolic association and affinity for the substrate. Phenol degradation in the granular sludge was observed to be carried out in the following way. First, Cryptanaerobacter converts phenol to benzoate, which is then degraded by Syntrophus into acetate. This syntrophic degradation of phenol occurs near the surface of the granule, where the phenol concentration is high. In the deeper part of the granule, where the phenol concentration is lower, Syntrophorhabdaceae degrades phenol into acetate. We observed that Syntrophorhabdaceae is less likely to produce benzoate as an intermediate to feed the neighboring organisms, which contradicts the theories presented by previous studies.

使用荧光原位杂交 (FISH) 和克隆文库构建研究了从处理含酚废水的厌氧污泥床反应器中收获的颗粒的微生物群落结构。观察到Syntrophorhabdaceae 和Cryptanaerobacter的克隆是苯酚降解的原因。为了准确分类分配隐孢杆菌克隆，有必要使用几乎全长的 16S 核糖体 RNA (rRNA) 基因序列进行系统发育分析。设计了三个寡核苷酸探针来检测以下三个分类群：Syntrophorhabdaceae、Cryptanaerobacter和Syntrophus. 厌氧颗粒薄片的 FISH 分析显示细菌和古细菌的随机分布。然而，观察到Syntrophorhabdaceae、 Cryptanaerobacter和Syntrophus的明确分布。在颗粒外层发现隐厌氧菌和合养菌，并且相互密切相关，而合生菌科则位于颗粒的较深部分。细菌的这种特定分布很可能是由于它们的代谢结合和对底物的亲和力。观察到颗粒污泥中的苯酚降解以下列方式进行。首先，Cryptanaerobacter将苯酚转化为苯甲酸盐，然后被降解同养成醋酸盐。这种苯酚的共生降解发生在颗粒表面附近，在那里苯酚浓度很高。在颗粒的较深部分，苯酚浓度较低，Syntrophorhabdaceae 将苯酚降解为乙酸盐。我们观察到 Syntrophorhabdaceae 不太可能产生苯甲酸盐作为喂养邻近生物的中间体，这与先前研究提出的理论相矛盾。