Pohang University of Science and Technology · Engineering
Professor Seokhwan Hwang's research lab specializes in molecular microbial ecology and environmental biotechnology, focusing on the detection, quantification, and characterization of key microbial communities in anaerobic processes. The lab employs advanced molecular techniques such as TaqMan quantitative real-time PCR to study methanogens and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria at various taxonomic levels, particularly in waste treatment systems. Their work emphasizes the development of group-specific primer and probe sets for precise monitoring of microbial populations in environmental and engineered systems, including anaerobic digesters and swine wastewater treatment reactors. The lab’s research contributes significantly to understanding microbial community dynamics and improving the efficiency of biological wastewater and waste treatment processes.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a highly sensitive method that can be used for the detection and quantification of microbial populations without cultivating them in anaerobic processes and environmental samples. This work was conducted to design primer and probe sets for the detection of methanogens using a real-time PCR with the TaqMan system. Six group-specific methanogenic primer and probe sets were designed. These sets separately detect four orders (Methanococcales, Methanobacte
The TaqMan quantitative PCR (QPCR) method was used to detect and quantify the 16S rRNA genes of aceticlastic methanogens at different taxonomic levels. Three different sets of primers coupled with a TaqMan probe for QPCR assays to detect the 16S rRNA genes of the order Methanosarcinales, as well as the families Methanosarcinaceae and Methanosaetaceae, were separately used. Using these primer and probe sets, the 16S rRNA genes of aceticlastic methanogens in samples from various anaerobic processe
The methanogenic community structures of four different anaerobic processes were characterized using a quantitative real-time PCR with group-specific primer and probe sets targeting the 16S rRNA gene (rDNA). The group specific primer and probe sets were developed and used to detect the orders Methanosarcinales, and the families Methanosarcinaceae and Methanosaetaceae. Two separate sets targeting the domains Archaea and Bacteria were also used. Each microbial population in different anaerobic pro
Swine wastewater was biologically treated to produce short-chain volatile organic acids (VOAs) in laboratory-scale continuously stirred tank reactors. The maximum production rates of acetic and butyric acids associated with simultaneous changes in pH and hydraulic retention time (HRT) were investigated, in which the degree of acidification of swine wastewater to the short-chain VOAs was <25% of influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration. A constant inoculum system was used to minimize t
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