4.8 Article

Does quorum quenching matter to microbial community dynamics in long-term membrane bioreactor operation?

Journal

WATER RESEARCH
Volume 244, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120473

Keywords

Biofouling; Membrane bioreactor; Microbial community; Microbial network; Quorum quenching

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Quorum quenching (QQ) has been successful in preventing biofouling in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) using isolated QQ bacterial strains. However, the effect of QQ on the microbial population is still not fully understood. This study analyzed the microbial population in MBRs over an extended period under different conditions and found that QQ treatment did not significantly affect the structure and diversity of the microbial community. The research also provided insights into the role of bacterial QQ in reducing MBR biofouling and its underlying mechanisms.
Quorum quenching (QQ) has effectively prevented biofouling in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) employing isolated QQ bacterial strains. However, the influence of QQ on the microbial population still needs to be fully understood. This research aims to analyze the microbial population in MBRs over an extended period (>250 days) under different conditions, such as varying aeration intensities and doses of QQ bacteria, QQ media, and types of feed. Results show that no significant changes occurred in the structure and diversity of the microbial community in the mixed liquor and biofilm due to QQ treatment. Canonical correspondence analysis did reveal that the microbial communities were strongly influenced by feed types and phases. The microbial community composition varied between bacterial habitats (i.e., mixed liquor and biofilm), showing the two dominant phyla Proteobacteria and Bacteroidota in the former and Proteobacteria and Chloroflexi in the latter. The co-occurrence network analysis indicated that the biofilm (with 163 edges) in the MBR fed with real wastewater exhibited a more intricate network than the biofilm (with 53 edges) in the MBR fed with synthetic wastewater. With QQ, the biofilm exhibited more positive edges than negative ones. The phylogenetic investigation of communities showed that QQ barely affects functional gene-related quorum sensing (e.g., bacterial chemotaxis, motility proteins, and secretion) in mixed liquor but in biofilms at relatively large QQ doses (> 75 mg/L BH4). This research sheds light on the bacterial QQ's role in reducing MBR biofouling and provides crucial insights into its underlying mechanisms.

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