New PreMiEr Publication: Microbial Signaling Molecules Could Improve Wastewater Treatment
A new PreMiEr study finds that two microbial signaling molecules have opposing effects on nitrogen-processing bacteria in wastewater treatment, opening the door to a biologically tunable strategy for improving nitrification efficiency.
A new PreMiEr study finds that two types of quorum sensing signals have opposite effects on the bacteria responsible for nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment systems, and that manipulating both together could significantly improve treatment efficiency. Researchers showed that acyl homoserine lactones strongly boost ammonia oxidation, while autoinducer-2 suppresses ammonia oxidation but markedly accelerates nitrite oxidation. By tuning the balance of these naturally occurring signaling molecules, engineers could synchronize the two key steps of nitrification in activated sludge systems, offering a biologically driven strategy for more effective nitrogen removal. The study was published in a 2026 peer-reviewed journal.
Read more here: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.08.698431