show Abstracthide AbstractIn an attempt to address product variability observed in resource recovery from wastewater streams, the role of the inocula structure on the mature microbial community structure and function within the bioreactor was evaluated. Triplicates of identical sequential batch reactors were inoculated with three complex naturally occurring microbial inocula, camel manure, mangrove sediment, and wastewater treatment sludge. Chemical and microbial compositions in each reactor were monitored every two days for a total of 14 days by HPLC and v4 16S rRNA gene analysis respectively. Microbial community dynamics and chemical profiles were distinct to initial inoculate and highly reproducible. Our results suggest that original inoculum predictably contributes to bioreactor community structure and function during a 14-day fermentation.