Determination of the effects of medium composition on the monochloramine disinfection kinetics of Nitrosomonas europaea by the propidium monoazide quantitative PCR and Live/Dead BacLight methods.

Various medium compositions (phosphate, 1 to 50 mM; ionic strength, 2.8 to 150 meq/liter) significantly affected Nitrosomonas europaea monochloramine disinfection kinetics, as determined by the Live/Dead BacLight (LD) and propidium monoazide quantitative PCR (PMA-qPCR) methods (lag coefficient, 37 to 490 [LD] and 91 to 490 [PMA-qPCR] mg·min/liter; Chick-Watson rate constant, 4.0 × 10(-3) to 9.3 × 10(-3) [LD] and 1.6 × 10(-3) to 9.6 × 10(-3) [PMA-qPCR] liter/mg·min). Two competing effects may account for the variation in disinfection kinetic parameters: (i) increasing kinetics (disinfection rate constant [k] increased, lag coefficient [b] decreased) with increasing phosphate concentration and (ii) decreasing kinetics (k decreased, b increased) with increasing ionic strength. The results support development of a standard medium for evaluating disinfection kinetics in drinking water.