Qian Zhu: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430074, Hubei,, China.
Yanyan Zheng: College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hubei Key Laboratory of Pollutant Analysis and Reuse Technology, Hubei Normal University, 11 Cihu Road, Huangshi 435002, Hubei, China.
Xingwang Zhou: College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hubei Key Laboratory of Pollutant Analysis and Reuse Technology, Hubei Normal University, 11 Cihu Road, Huangshi 435002, Hubei, China.
Dunjia Wang: College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hubei Key Laboratory of Pollutant Analysis and Reuse Technology, Hubei Normal University, 11 Cihu Road, Huangshi 435002, Hubei, China.
Mengjiao Yuan: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430074, Hubei,, China.
Dingkang Qian: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430074, Hubei,, China.
Sha Liang: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430074, Hubei,, China.
Wenbo Yu: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430074, Hubei,, China.
Jiakuan Yang: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430074, Hubei,, China.
Huijie Hou: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430074, Hubei,, China.
Jingping Hu: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430074, Hubei,, China.
Electrogenic biofilms, which have attracted considerable attention in simultaneous wastewater treatment and energy recovery in bioelectrochemical systems, are regulated by chemical communication and potassium channel-mediated electrical signaling. However, how these two communication pathways interact with each other has not been thoroughly investigated. This study first explored the roles of chemical communication, including intracellular bis-(3'-5')-cyclic dimeric guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) and extracellular N-acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL)-mediated quorum sensing, in electrogenic biofilm formation through an integrated analysis of transcriptomics and metabolomics. Electrical signaling disruption inhibited the formation and electroactivity of biofilm, which was mainly ascribed to the reduction in biofilm viability and extracellular protein/polysaccharide ratio. The upregulation of expression levels of genes encoding c-di-GMP and AHL synthesis by transcriptomic analysis, and the increased secretion of N-butanoyl-L-homoserine lactone by metabolomic analysis confirmed the enhancement of chemical communication under electrical signaling disruption, thus indicating a compensatory mechanism among different signaling pathways. Furthermore, protein-protein interaction network showed the convergence of different signaling pathways, with c-di-GMP-related genes acting as central bridges. This study highlights the interaction of different signaling pathways, especially the resilience of c-di-GMP signaling to adverse external stresses, thereby laying the foundation for facilitating electrogenic biofilm formation under adverse conditions in practical applications.
