Optimizing UV-B induced prophage activation for restructuring microbial aggregates and Suppressing recolonization in membrane filtration systems.

Authors

Shuyu Zhang, Chen Ji, Lingyu Kong, Zhuodong Yu, Chen Wang, Liang Zhu, Yixiao Tan

Published in

Bioresource technology. Pages 136172. Oct 31, 2026. Epub Oct 31, 2026.

Abstract

Membrane biofouling remains a persistent challenge in membrane filtration systems. Although phage-mediated lysis has emerged as a promising biocontrol strategy, its effectiveness can be limited by the structural protection of microbial aggregates and hydraulic conditions. Herein, we investigated targeted UV-induced prophage activation and the resulting ecological dynamics between host and non-host bacteria within lab-scale membrane filtration platforms by using E. coli phage-host system. The optimized parameters of UV-induced prophage activation under 313 nm UV-B irradiation were set at low energy of 4.6 mW/cm², with E. coli phage progeny reaching 1.9 × 10⁴ PFU/mL after 2 min treatment. Transcriptome analysis showed the 1.2-fold up-regulation of bacterial redox-regulator genes (soxRS) and down-regulation of biofilm formation genes (csgC, pgaB), indicating a cellular stress response associated with prophage activation. Subsequent recolonization experiments showed altered contributions of host and non-host invasive populations (AS, 34 %), reduced microbial diversity (28 %), and restructuring of membrane-associated microbial aggregates. An experimentally informed Susceptible-Carried-Infected-Lysed (SCIL) model further reproduced the observed trends in host suppression and phage production under UV-induced stress. Moreover, in cross-flow filtration system, prophage activation was accompanied by restructuring of the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) matrix, with a 55 % decrease in the protein-to-polysaccharide (PN/PS) ratio and a 31.4 % reduction in aggregate thickness, together with delayed transmembrane pressure (TMP) development. These results demonstrate that controlled UV-B-induced prophage activation can act as a phage-mediated ecological disturbance that restructures resident biofilms and alters subsequent microbial recolonization, providing ecological insights and theoretical guidance for future biofouling-control strategies in wastewater membrane filtration.

PMID:
42966542
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 01 Nov 2026.

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