[Abstract] This preliminary study focused on a critical step for the characterization of microbial ecosystem involved in biofiltration. Two aspects of nucleic acid recovery were explored: (i) cell dispersion (three methods tested) and (ii) total DNA extraction (four methods tested). The objective is to select the optimal combination of desorption/extraction methods, allowing subsequent molecular investigations to be reliable. Three relevant criteria are used to assess extraction efficiency: DNA amount and purity, and subsequent amplification feasibility