Quorum Sensing Energizing Wastewater Biotreatment: Bridging Laboratorial Insights to Full-Scale Engineering

Stricter treatment standards are forcing traditional biological wastewater treatment to adopt innovative regulatory strategies. Quorum sensing (QS) represents the microbial communication mechanism that coordinates population-level behaviors. It has emerged as a novel strategy to enhance microbial performance. Currently, most studies investigate the positive performances of exogenous quorum-sensing molecules (QSMs) in lab-scale batch bioreactors. However, full-scale engineering lacks sufficient operational guidance. This Perspective proposes a translational framework to bridge the gap between laboratory insights and practical application. The following four points are of great concern: standardized QSM quantification, targeted regulatory design, operational optimization, and ecological risk assessment. First, this Perspective elucidates the dose–response relationship between QSM concentrations and activation thresholds, subsequently proposing targeted intervention strategies. Then, high-efficiency regulation requires the development of cost-efficient QSM analogues and microbial consortia with productive QSM secretion capabilities. Next, operational strategies must counter the short half-life of the QSM through pulsed dosing or attenuation suppression. Finally, ecological assessments should evaluate pathogenicity risks, ecosystem disruption potential, and the probability of gene transfer. Advancing QS-based regulatory strategies demands integrated efforts across microbiology, chemical engineering, and environmental risk science to ensure safe and effective deployment in wastewater biotreatment.