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Antibiofilm activity of Bacillus pumilus SW9 against initial biofouling on microfiltration membranes

  • Environmental biotechnology
  • Published:
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Abstract

Membrane biofouling, resulting from biofilm formation on the membrane, has become the main obstacle hindering wider application of membrane technology. Initial biofouling proves to be crucial which involves early stages of microbial adhesion and biofilm formation. Biological control of microbial attachment seems to be a promising strategy due to its high efficiency and eco-friendliness. The present study investigated the effects of a bacterium Bacillus pumilus SW9 on controlling the initial fouling formed by four target bacterial strains which were pioneer species responsible for biofouling in membrane bioreactors, using microfiltration membranes as the abiotic surfaces. The results suggested that strain SW9 exhibited excellent antibiofilm activity by decreasing the attached biomass of target strains. The production of extracellular polysaccharides and proteins by four target strains was also reduced. A distinct improvement of permeate flux in dead-end filtration systems was achieved when introducing strain SW9 to microfiltration experiments. Scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy were performed to further ascertain significant changes of the biofouling layers. A link between biofilm inhibition and initial biofouling mitigation was thus provided, suggesting an alternatively potential way to control membrane biofouling through bacterial interactions.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Knowledge Innovation Project (KZCX2-YW-JC406) and the 100 talent Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences, National High-Tech R&D Program of China (2012AA062607) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, 50678080 & 51078343). The authors are grateful to all those who had kindly provided assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, People’s Republic of China

    Ying Zhang, Xin Yu, Song Gong, Chengsong Ye, Zihong Fan & Huirong Lin

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  1. Ying Zhang
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  2. Xin Yu
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  3. Song Gong
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  4. Chengsong Ye
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Correspondence to Xin Yu.

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Zhang, Y., Yu, X., Gong, S. et al. Antibiofilm activity of Bacillus pumilus SW9 against initial biofouling on microfiltration membranes. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 98, 1309–1320 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-013-4991-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-013-4991-x

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