Occurrence of Gymnamoebae and physico-chemical parameters in an industrial wastewater treatment system

Abstract

The activated sludge system is one of the processes most utilized for both domestic and industrial
wastewater treatment. The treatment is carried out by different microbial associations, primarily
bacterial, but there are also others, such as gymnamoebae or naked amoebae, which act as regulators of
the bacterial populations in the treatment systems. In addition, some gymnamoebae can cause human
diseases or be vectors of other pathogens. However, information about the species found in—
particularly industrial—wastewater treatment systems is scarce. This work, therefore, aims to determine
the occurrence of gymnamoebae and the physico-chemical parameters in an industrial wastewater
treatment system. Species belonging to 15 genera of gymnamoebae were found in the treatment system,
the genera Acanthamoeba, Vannella and Mayorella being the most represented. Some amoeba species
were found throughout the treatment system, while others were found only in one or two zones.