''Microthrix parvicella'' strain RN1, isolated by micromanipulation fr
om an activated sludge treatment plant in Italy, is phylogenetically i
dentical to two ether isolates from Australia. Our Italian isolate of
''M. parvicella'' is a slow growing (mu max ranging from 0.3 to 0.5 d(
-1)), aerobic organism that exhibits nutritional versatility, being ab
le to utilize simple and complex compounds as carbon and nitrogen sour
ces. in pure culture, the organism cannot grow anaerobically nor is it
able to denitrify. Strain RN1 is able to grow both in aerobic and in
microaerophilic conditions and this metabolic versatility could give i
t a metabolic advantage in the activated Sludge milieu. (C) 1998 IAWQ.
Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.