Biofouling leads to water quality deterioration and higher maintenance cost for cleaning of membranes. The present study has demonstrated the application of a biomolecule (vanillin) in scrubbing and destabilizing biofilms of drinking water reverse osmosis (RO) membrane module in lab scale reactor set-up. Reverse osmosis membrane reactor was connected with tap water supply and subjected with optimal concentration of vanillin. The pressure drop was delayed by 17–20 days as compared to control reactor. Real-time PCR analysis of metagenome indicated the reduced copy number of functional biofilm-associated genes (bdlA, lasI, pgaC) in treated membrane. SEM and metagenome analysis revealed that the sticky biofilm communities shifted to loosely bound emboli after vanillin treatment. Metagenome sequence analysis revealed the inhibitory activity against major biofouling biota like members of Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Acnitobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Candidatus, Nitrospira, and Firmicutes. Biofouled membrane metagenome sequence was also compared with real-life (brackish water, waste water, domestic drinking water) biofouled membrane communities. In silico docking of vanillin to receptor proteins and chemical configuration simulation along with other phenolic derivatives were performed, which suggested that the autoiducer signal capability of vanillin was effective against representative broad spectrum biofilm population. Vanillin exhibited the quorum-quenching mode of action by virtue of docking towards similar amino acid (Thr 131, Ilu 214) responsible of autoinducer signal anchoring in the transcriptional regulatory proteins.

中文翻译：

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对香兰素介导的膜生物污染预防的宏基因组洞察：计算机对接验证

生物污垢会导致水质恶化和膜清洁维护成本更高。本研究证明了生物分子（香草醛）在实验室规模反应器装置中洗涤和破坏饮用水反渗透 (RO) 膜模块生物膜的应用。反渗透膜反应器与自来水连接，并进行最佳香兰素浓度。与对照反应器相比，压降延迟了 17-20 天。宏基因组的实时 PCR 分析表明，处理过的膜中功能性生物膜相关基因（bdlA、lasI、pgaC）的拷贝数减少。SEM 和宏基因组分析显示，在香草醛处理后，粘性生物膜群落转变为松散结合的栓子。宏基因组序列分析揭示了对主要生物污染生物群的抑制活性，如变形杆菌、酸杆菌、Acnitobacteria、Bacteroidetes、Candidatus、Nitrospira 和 Firmicutes 的成员。生物污染膜宏基因组序列还与现实生活中（苦咸水、废水、生活饮用水）生物污染膜群落进行了比较。进行了香草醛与受体蛋白的计算机对接和化学构型模拟以及其他酚类衍生物，这表明香草醛的自动诱导信号能力对具有代表性的广谱生物膜群体有效。香草醛通过与相似氨基酸（Thr 131，