Quorum sensing (QS) plays a critical role in the enhancement of biofilm performance at low temperatures. In this study, a uni-QS (Sphingomonas rubra) and three bisynergistic-QS [composed of S. rubra and one of the isolated QS aerobic denitrifying bacteria (QS-ADB) Pseudomonas mendocina QQQC, P. mendocina ABDF, and Enterobacter aerogenes] were added to biofilm reactors in the start-up phase at 8 °C. Results indicate that compared to the control reactor, bisynergistic-QS exhibited maximum TN removal efficiency (93.50 ± 5.44, 93.97 ± 3.93, and 92.35 ± 5.04%), largest functional genes amoA, narG, and norB abundance (15-fold, 15-fold, and 75-fold), and uprising C10-HSL and C14-HSL concentrations (22.32-to 39.28-fold and 3.87-to 8.66-fold). Network analysis revealed that the biofilm thickness which possessed strong relationships with its dominant bacteria might contribute to great performance in bisynergistic-QS reactors under low temperature and increased loading rate. Proteobacteria play an important role in the AHL-based QS system. The abundance of keystone taxa Raoultella, Micropruina, and Zoogloea deserved more attention utilizing exogenous aerobic denitrifier addition. This study provided a helpful guideline for the design of exogenously enhancing biofilm denitrification systems at low temperatures.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations –citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.