Bacterial community structure and enzyme activities in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) using pure oxygen as an aeration source

► Enzyme activities in pure O2-aerated MBR are similar to those reported under conventional aeration. ► Temperature and volatile suspended solids significantly influence enzyme activities in the MBR. ► The bacterial community is versatile and can answer in a flexible way to environmental changes. ► The MBR community was functionality equivalent to those developed under conventional aeration. A pilot-scale membrane bioreactor was used to treat urban wastewater using pure oxygen instead of air as a source of aeration, to study its influence on bacterial diversity and levels of enzyme activities (acid and alkaline phosphatases, glucosidase, protease, and esterase) in the sludge. The experimental work was developed in two stages influenced by seasonal temperature. Operational parameters (temperature, pH, BOD5, COD, total and volatile suspended solids) were daily monitored, and enzyme activities measured twice a week. Redundancy analysis (RDA) was used to reveal relationships between the level of enzyme activities and the variation of operational parameters, demonstrating a significant effect of temperature and volatile suspended solids. Bacterial diversity was analyzed by temperature-gradient gel electrophoresis of PCR-amplified partial 16S rRNA genes. Significant differences in community structure were observed between both stages. Sequence analysis revealed that the prevalent Bacteria populations were evolutively close to Alphaproteobacteria (44%), Betaproteobacteria (25%) and Firmicutes (17%).