초록
The fermentative hydrogen production occurs during the anaerobic digestion of organic matter. It is a promising technology to produce renewable energy. However, the mixed culture fermentation performances vary considerably depending on the operating conditions such as pH. We investigated the potential of a molecular CE-SSCP (capillary electrophoresis-single strand conformation polymorphism) fingerprinting method based on the hydA functional genes to better describe the bacterial community dynamics, with regards to the standard 16S rDNA-based method. A series of batch experiments was performed from sucrose at different initial pH from 4 to 6. As expected, the highest H<SUB>2</SUB> production potentials (H<SUB>max</SUB>) and rates (R<SUB>max</SUB>) were obtained at the highest pH. Changes in batch performances were clearly associated with shifts in the hydA diversity and structure. In contrast, 16S rDNA-based fingerprints were less sensitive to changes in H<SUB>2</SUB> production performances. The H<SUB>max</SUB> was related to lower hydA diversity, with Clostridium sporogenes as the major H<SUB>2</SUB> producer. Communities harboring larger hydA diversities were found in experiments with the higher R<SUB>max</SUB>, suggesting that species coexistence may have positive effects on H<SUB>2</SUB> production.