Role and application of quorum sensing in anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process: A review

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is a promising biological nitrogen removal process, due to its advantages of high efficiency and low cost. However, problems remain in the application, such as long startup period and susceptibility to environmental variations. Quorum sensing (QS), as a means of bacterial communication, attracts more attentions in regulating aggregation behavior and microbial density. Many physiological characteristics of anammox bacteria have been confirmed to be associated with QS, including specific anammox activity, growth rate and the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), which directly affect the performance of anammox process. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the QS in anammox process is prerequisite. This work systematically reviewed the role and application of QS in the anammox process with the focus on mechanism. Additionally, current challenges and research needs were proposed.