Waheed, H. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2026

Autoinducer-2 and acyl homoserine lactones have contrasting effects on ammonia and nitrite-oxidizing sludge

Enhancing nitrification with quorum sensing manipulation has emerged as a promising strategy to overcome rate-limiting steps. This study examined how disrupting microbial cell-to-cell communication by supplementing or quenching signal molecules regulates ammonia- and nitrite-oxidizing activity within activated sludge. Prolonged enrichment of activated sludge over 180 days yielded stable and robust nitrifying consortia, increasing the ammonia oxidation rate (AOR) from 5.4 to 9.3 mg N g-{superscript 1} VSS h-{superscript 1} and the nitrite oxidation rate (NOR) from 0.6 to 4.8 mg N g-{superscript 1} VSS h-{superscript 1}, while reducing the hydraulic residence time by 50 % (from 72 h to 36 h). Exogenous addition of oxoacyl and long-chain acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) signals further boosted AOR up to 4.5-fold higher than the control activated sludge, predominantly through transcriptional activation of the amoA gene in Nitrosomonas eutropha. Acylase-mediated AHL quenching lowered AOR to 4.8 mg N g-{superscript 1} VSS h-{superscript 1} but improved functional resilience of nitrite oxidizing bacteria by enhancing mass transfer and oxygen diffusion via smaller flocs (123 {micro}m vs 357 {micro}m in AHL-treated sludge). Conversely, elevated autoinducer-2 (AI-2) levels suppressed ammonia-oxidizing activity (AOR = 2 mg N g-{superscript 1} VSS h-{superscript 1}) yet stimulated nitrite oxidation (NOR = 36 mg N g-{superscript 1} VSS h-{superscript 1}), particularly Nitrospira, underscoring the contrasting regulatory requirements of the two nitrifying guilds. Overall, the study demonstrates that AHLs and AI-2 serve as complementary yet opposing regulators of nitrification, primarily activating ammonia oxidizers and nitrite oxidizers, respectively. Maintaining these signaling molecules within an optimal physiological window thereby offers a biologically tunable approach for synchronized ammonia and nitrite oxidation, ultimately maximizing nitrogen removal in biological treatment systems.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2021

The Lambda variant of SARS-CoV-2 has a better chance than the Delta variant to escape vaccines

The newly emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2 from India (Delta variant) and South America (Lambda variant) have led to a higher infection rate of either vaccinated or unvaccinated people. We found that sera from Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine remain high reactivity toward the receptor binding domain (RBD) of Delta variant while it drops dramatically toward that of Lambda variant. Interestingly, the overall titer of antibodies of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccinated individuals drops 3-fold after 6 months, which could be one of major reasons for breakthrough infections, emphasizing the importance of potential third boost shot. While a therapeutic antibody, Bamlanivimab, decreases binding affinity to Delta variant by ~20 fold, it fully lost binding to Lambda variant. Structural modeling of complexes of RBD with human receptor, Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2), and Bamlanivimab suggest the potential basis of the change of binding. The data suggest possible danger and a potential surge of Lambda variant in near future.

immunology↗