Discovery of New Organism Could Solve Common Wastewater Treatment Problem

Associate Professor Steve Petrovski of La Trobe University in Australia, who recently shared findings in a new paper published in Nature Microbiology, says wastewater treatment plants can be plagued by operational problems caused by foam created by certain bacteria. “This foam reduces the quality of effluent and creates a hazardous work environment at the plant. It costs the industry billions of dollars each year and makes the plants inefficient, yet there are no effective ways to control these foams,” says Petrovski.Petrovski’s work focuses on “bacteriophages,” viruses that infect and kill bacteria.“One particular bacterium — Gordonia amarae — is notorious for causing persistent and stable foams