Abstract:A culture-independent approach to monitor changes in the structures of microbial communities in industrial scale treatment basins was developed. Sludge samples were taken from the wastewater treatment system (A~2/O, A1: Anaerobic tank; A2: Anoxic tank; O: Oxic tank) of a local coking plant. Suspended sludge was collected weekly from six different locations in different tanks over a period of four weeks. The total DNA was extracted and ERIC-PCR was used to generate DNA fingerprints. Southern blot was car...