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Abstract
Depletion of energy and environmental pollution are two of the major problems the world is currently facing. Anaerobic digestion of organic wastes offers a solution to both problems because it converts the organic waste material into methane which is a combustible gas and can be a renewable energy source. However, knowledge about the microorganisms involved in the process is still very limited. In this study a microbial community suitable for anaerobic digestion of carrot pomace was developed from inocula obtained from natural environmental sources. The changes along the process were monitored using pyrosequencing of the 16S rDNA gene. As the community adapted from a very diverse natural community to a specific community with a definite function, the diversity decreased drastically. The bacterial population in an anaerobic reactor was found to be more diverse than the archaeal population. Major bacterial groups in the anaerobic digestion were Bacilli (31% 45.3%), Porphyromonadaceae (12.1% 24.8%) and Spirochaetes (12.5% 18.5%). The archaeal population was mainly represented by an OTU that is 99.7% similar to Methanosarcina mazei. Failures in the methane production were related to shifts in bacterial populations and loss of methanogens.