Aquaponics S ystems (AS) utilize recirculating aquaculture technology and plant grow-out systems to diversify production of both fish and vegetables. These systems rely on biological nitrification to convert fish metabolites to nutrients available for plant growth. The successful operation of AS requires ammonia-oxidizing organisms to convert fish waste to plant food but little is known about the microorganisms actually present . B oth a mmonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) are believed to be responsible for this process . We utilized 16S Amplicon Metagenomic Sequencing to identify AOB and AOA species in the AS at Concordia University Wisconsin. This is a Deep-Water-Culture AS system and samples were taken from three components: biofilter, mineralization tank and raft tank. At startup a commercially available culture of nitrifying bacteria was used to inoculate the system; ammonium chloride was dosed prior to stocking walleye ( Sander vitreus ). Microbial samples were collected over a period of 6 months. To isolate DNA from the samples a Qiagen prep kit was used followed by “DNeasy ® PowerBiofilm® Kit. Amplicon metagenomic sequencing classifies the target genes of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) by universal primers and our results will describe and compare the phylogeny and taxonomy of bacteria, archaea and fungi in our samples over time. These results will provide valuable insight into key dynamics in the microbial community during the startup of AS and promote optimization of future microbial inoculants that include the most beneficial microbial species.
Note: microbial DNA samples will be sent to Retrogen, Inc. (San Diego, CA) for processing in December of 2021.