American Society of Hirudotherapy

Anti-Biofouling Performance of an Immobilized Indigenous Quorum Quenching Bacterium Bacillus cereus HG10 and Its Influence on the Microbial Community in a Bioreactor

Research article published in International journal of environmental research and public health (2019)

Last Updated: June 18, 2026Reviewed by: ASH Editorial Board
Research article — evidence reviewArticle reference
Evidence: Research reportClinical TrialsXu et al. · International journal of environmental research and public health, 2019

Abstract

Quorum quenching-membrane bioreactors (QQ-MBRs) have been studied widely in recent decades. However, limited information is known about the influence of QQ on the microbial community. In this study, the indigenous QQ bacterium Bacillus cereus HG10 was immobilized and used to control biofouling in a bioreactor. QQ beads caused extracellular polymeric substance reduction and significantly hindered biofilm formation on a submerged membrane. Community profiling of 16S rRNA gene amplicons revealed that QQ beads dramatically altered the bacterial community structure in activated sludge but not in biofilm. Bacterial structure in the presence of QQ beads showed a clear divergence from that of the control groups at phylum, class, order, family, and genus taxonomic ranks. A significant enrichment of several bacterial genera, including Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, Delftia, Bacillus, and Pseudomonas, and depletion of over 12 bacterial genera were observed. These findings would contribute to a better understanding of why and how immobilized QQ bacteria impair membrane biofouling in QQ-MBRs.

Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.

Publication typeJournal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Indexed MeSH termsBacillus cereusBiofoulingBioreactorsExtracellular Polymeric Substance MatrixQuorum SensingWastewaterWater Purification

Summary

Peer-reviewed clinical and outcomes research relevant to medicinal leech therapy and its biology. Indexed in PubMed and verified against the NCBI record.

Why This Matters for Hirudotherapy

This study immobilized a quorum-quenching bacterium (Bacillus cereus HG10) to control membrane biofouling in a wastewater bioreactor, showing reduced biofilm formation and a shifted microbial community in which several genera, including Aeromonas, were enriched. Important caveat: despite surface-level keyword overlap, this is an environmental-engineering and microbiology paper with no connection to medicinal leeches or hirudotherapy; the only tangential link is that Aeromonas, named here as a wastewater-community genus, is also the leech-gut symbiont relevant to infection prophylaxis during leech therapy. The study itself supports no hirudotherapy claim and should not be presented as clinical or leech-related evidence.

Citation

Anti-Biofouling Performance of an Immobilized Indigenous Quorum Quenching Bacterium Bacillus cereus HG10 and Its Influence on the Microbial Community in a Bioreactor.

Xu et al. · International journal of environmental research and public health, 2019

DOI

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