The effect of quorum sensing on cadmium- and lead-containing wastewater treatment using activated sludge: Removal efficiency, enzyme activity, and microbial community

Taotao Zeng; Liangqin Wang; Xiaoya Ren; Naif Abdullah Al-Dhabi; Haichao Sha; Yusong Fu; Wangwang Tang; Jie Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2024.118835

The effect of quorum sensing on cadmium- and lead-containing wastewater treatment using activated sludge: Removal efficiency, enzyme activity, and microbial community

Environ Res. 2024 Apr 4;252(Pt 2):118835. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118835. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Taotao Zeng¹, Liangqin Wang¹, Xiaoya Ren², Naif Abdullah Al-Dhabi³, Haichao Sha¹, Yusong Fu¹, Wangwang Tang⁴, Jie Zhang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse Technology, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, Hunan, China.
² Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Typical Environmental Pollution and Health Hazard, School of Public Health, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, Hunan, China. Electronic address: renxiaoya@usc.edu.cn.
³ Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, P. O. Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resources & Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China. Electronic address: 6282031@163.com.

PMID: 38582423
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118835

Abstract

Quorum sensing (QS) is prevalent in activated sludge processes; however, its essential role in the treatment of heavy metal wastewater has rarely been studied. Therefore, in this study, acyl homoserine lactone (AHL)-mediated QS was used to regulate the removal performance, enzyme activity, and microbial community of Cd- and Pb-containing wastewater in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) over 30 cycles. The results showed that exogenous AHL strengthened the removal of Cd(II) and Pb(II) in their coexistence wastewater during the entire period. The removal of NH₄⁺-N, total phosphorus, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) was also enhanced by the addition of AHL despite the coexistence of Cd(II) and Pb(II). Meanwhile, the protein content of extracellular polymeric substances was elevated and the microbial metabolism and antioxidative response were stimulated by the addition of AHL, which was beneficial for resistance to heavy metal stress and promoted pollutant removal by activated sludge. Microbial sequencing indicated that AHL optimized the microbial community structure, with the abundance of dominant taxa Proteobacteria and Unclassified_f_Enterobacteriaceae increasing by 73.9% and 59.2% maximally, respectively. This study offers valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying Cd(II) and Pb(II) removal as well as microbial community succession under AHL availability in industrial wastewater.

Keywords: Acyl homoserine lactone (AHL); Cadmium; Lead; Microbial community; Quorum sensing; Wastewater treatment.