Heterotrophic Nitrification-aerobic Denitrification Bacteria Research Articles

Effect of carbon source on carbon and nitrogen metabolism of common heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification pathway

Pseudomonas sp. ZHL02, removing nitrogen via ammonia nitrogen (NH4+) → hydroxylamine (HN2OH) → nitrite (NO2−) → nitrate (NO3−) → NO2− → nitric oxide (NO) → nitrous oxide (N2O) pathway was employed for getting in-depth information on the heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HNAD) pathway from carbon oxidation, nitrogen conversion, electron transport process, enzyme activity, as well as gene expression while sodium succinate, sodium citrate, and sodium acetate were utilized as the carbon sources. The nitrogen balance analysis results demonstrated that ZHL02 mainly removed NH4+-N through assimilation. The carbon source metabolism resulted in the discrepancies in electron transport chain and nitrogen removal between different HNAD bacteria. Moreover, the prokaryotic strand-specific transcriptome method showed that, amo and hao were absent in ZHL02, and unknown genes may be involved in ZHL02 during the HNAD process. As a fascinating process for removing nitrogen, the HNAD process is still puzzling, and the relationship between carbon metabolism and nitrogen metabolism among different HNAD pathways should be studied further.

Identification and Synergistic Denitrification of Two Heterotrophic Nitrification-Aerobic Denitrification Bacteria

Identification and Synergistic Denitrification of Two Heterotrophic Nitrification-Aerobic Denitrification Bacteria

Optimization of nitrogen removal by immobilized heterotrophic nitrification aerobic denitrifying bacterium using response surface methodology

An innovative bacterial carrier complex embedded with polyvinyl alcohol and sodium alginate complex (P.S.) was developed, using the heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HN-AD) strain Paracoccus sp. QD-21, which was carefully selected from activated sludge. The performance of the immobilized bacterium on ammonia nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, and nitrite nitrogen was thoroughly analyzed, aiming to investigate the synergistic effects of the P.S.-encapsulated bacterial carrier on the HN-AD strain QD-21. To assess the adaptability of the immobilized bacterium, various single-factor analysis experiments were conducted, including the assessment of carbon source, C/N, temperature, pH, rotational speed, and salinity. Subsequently, response surface methodology was employed to conduct further optimization, leading to the identification of optimum conditions (147.31 rpm, 36°C, C/N 8.72, pH 8). Under these conditions, an impressive ammonia nitrogen removal rate of 94.82 ± 0.82% was achieved. Furthermore, practical wastewater treatment experiments were carried out, demonstrating a remarkable 63.31% increase in ammonia nitrogen removal when the carrier with HN-AD bacterium attached was employed. Notably, the addition of a specific carbon source remarkably enhanced the treatment efficiency, resulting in a complete removal rate of 100%. These significant findings lay a solid foundation for the engineering application of the HN-AD bacterium and highlight the promising potential of the P.S.-encapsulated bacterial carrier complex in various applications.

Conversion behavior of heterotrophic nitrification - aerobic denitrification bacterium Paracoccus denitrificans HY-1 in nitrogen and phosphorus removal

The heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HN-AD) bacteria harbored remarkable removal capacity in eliminating single nitrogen pollutant, but their comprehensive performance in dealing with mixed nitrogen sources remained unknown. In this study, the denitrification capacity of HN-AD bacteria Paracoccus denitrificans HY-1 was explored through whole-genome sequencing and nitrogen metabolic pathway analysis, and the complex nitrogen sources with gradient concentration were used to validate its nitrogen removal efficiency under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The results demonstrated that strain HY-1 harbored an efficient degradation capacity on three nitrogen sources, and the removal rates of NH4+-N, NO2−-N and NO3−-N were 10.67 mg·L−1·h−1, 27.81 mg·L−1·h−1, and 22.05 mg·L−1·h−1, respectively. The denitrification rate of 15.33 mg·L−1·h−1 was obtained under anaerobic condition with mixed nitrogen sources. Also, the simultaneous nitrification denitrification phosphorus removal (SNDPR) trial revealed that strain HY-1 could eliminate PO43−-P with a rate of 0.38 mg·L−1·h−1 under coexistence condition of the three nitrogen sources. Combined with the nitrogen balance analysis, the results indicated that strain HY-1 possesses a great potential for application in complex nitrogen and phosphorus contaminated environments.

Effects of sliver nanoparticles on nitrogen removal by the heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification bacteria Zobellella sp. B307 and their toxicity mechanisms

Due to the widespread use of sliver nanoparticles (AgNPs), a large amount of AgNPs has inevitably been released into the environment, and there is growing concern about the toxicity of AgNPs to nitrogen-functional bacteria. In addition to traditional anaerobic denitrifying bacteria, heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HNAD) bacteria are also important participants in the nitrogen cycle. However, the mechanisms by which AgNPs influence HNAD bacteria have yet to be explicitly demonstrated. In this study, the inhibitory effects of different concentrations of AgNPs on a HNAD bacteria Zobellella sp. B307 were investigated, and the underlying mechanism was explored by analyzing the antioxidant system and the activities of key denitrifying enzymes. Results showed that AgNPs could inhibit the growth and the HNAD ability of Zobellella sp. B307. AgNPs could accumulate on the surface of bacterial cells and significantly destroyed the cell membrane integrity. Further studies demonstrated that the presence of high concentration of AgNPs could result in the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and related oxidative stress in the cells. Furthermore, the catalytic activities of key denitrifying enzymes (nitrate reductase (NAR), nitrite reductase (NIR), and nitrous oxide reductase (N2OR)) were significantly suppressed under exposure to a high concentration of AgNPs (20 mg·L−1), which might be responsible for the inhibited nitrogen removal performance of strain B307. This work could improve our understanding of the inhibitory effect and underlying mechanism of AgNPs on HNAD bacteria.

A novel derivative synchronous fluorescence method for the rapid, non-destructive and intuitive differentiation of denitrifying bacteria

It is challenging to differentiate bacteria residing in the same habitat by direct observation. This difficulty impedes the harvest, application and manipulation of functional bacteria in environmental engineering. In this study, we developed a novel method for rapid differentiation of living denitrifying bacteria based on derivative synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy, as exemplified by three heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification bacteria having the maximum nitrogen removal efficiencies greater than 90%. The intact bacteria and their living surroundings can be analyzed as an integrated target, which eliminates the need for the complex pre-processing of samples. Under the optimal synchronous scanning parameter (Δλ = 40 nm), each bacterium possesses a unique fluorescence spectral structure and the derivative synchronous fluorescence technique can significantly improve the spectral resolution compared to other conventional fluorescence methods, which enables the rapid differentiation of different bacteria through derivative synchronous fluorescence spectra as fast as 2 min per spectrum. Additionally, the derivative synchronous fluorescence technique can extract the spectral signals contributed by bacterial extracellular substances produced in the biological nitrogen removal process. Moreover, the results obtained from our method can reflect the real-time denitrification properties of bacteria in the biological nitrogen removal process of wastewater. All these merits highlight derivative synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy as a promising analytic method in the environmental field.

Enhanced ammonia removal in tidal flow constructed wetland by incorporating steel slag: Performance, microbial community, and heavy metal release

Utilizing alkaline solid wastes, such as steel slag, as substrates in tidal flow constructed wetlands (TFCWs) can effectively neutralize the acidity generated by nitrification. However, the impacts of steel slag on microbial communities and the potential risk of heavy metal release remain poorly understood. To address these knowledge gaps, this study compared the performance and microbial community structure of TFCWs filled with a mixture of steel slag and zeolite (TFCW-S) to those filled with zeolite alone (TFCW-Z). TFCW-S exhibited a much higher NH4+-N removal efficiency (98.35 %) than TFCW-Z (55.26 %). Additionally, TFCW-S also achieved better TN and TP removal. The steel slag addition helped maintain the TFCW-S effluent pH at around 7.5, while the TFCW-Z effluent pH varied from 3.74 to 6.25. The nitrification and denitrification intensities in TFCW-S substrates were significantly higher than those in TFCW-Z, consistent with the observed removal performance. Moreover, steel slag did not cause excessive heavy metal release, as the effluent concentrations were below the standard limits. Microbial community analysis revealed that ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, ammonia-oxidizing archaea, and complete ammonia-oxidizing bacteria coexisted in both TFCWs, albeit with different compositions. Furthermore, the enrichment of heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification bacteria in TFCW-S likely contributed to the high NH4+-N removal. In summary, these findings demonstrate that the combined use of steel slag and zeolite in TFCWs creates favorable pH conditions for ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms, leading to efficient ammonia removal in an environmentally friendly manner.

Factors affecting the enrichment of heterotrophic nitrifying aerobic denitrifying bacteria in municipal wastewater treatment systems and analysis of differences in nitrogen metabolism

In this study, a four-stage MPSR process was employed for the treatment of urban wastewater. Three different conditions were established by controlling dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration, organic load rate (OLR), and influent pH value to examine pollutant removal effects and the changes of the heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HN-AD) functional bacteria communities. The factors driving changes in the HN-AD bacterial community and differences in nitrogen metabolism were revealed in the urban wastewater treatment system. The results showed that by forming anoxic/aerobic alternate oxygen environments and increasing influent OLR and pH, various HN-AD bacteria (Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, Flavobacterium) were enriched in the system, leading to improved removal capacity for NH4+-N and TN. Under optimal condition, the removal rates of NH4+-N and TN were 94.0 % and 78.7 % respectively. The dominant species of HN-AD bacteria were influenced by OLR and pH. The HN-AD bacteria exhibited the capacity for heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification within the system. This study provides a technological basis for the application of HN-AD bacteria for wastewater treatment.

Nitrogen removal by heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification bacteria: A review

The rising urbanization and industrialization are increasing nitrogen pollution in water and wastewaters, calling for advanced remediation treatments. Traditional biological treatments are limited in area and efficiency. Therefore, heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HN-AD) in a single reactor has drawn significant attention and has shown higher efficiency. Here we review HN-AD bacteria with focus on bacterial species, nitrogen metabolism, and factors influencing denitrification. Nitrogen metabolism pathway includes nitrate-nitrite reduction denitrification, hydroxylamine reduction and assimilatory denitrification. Factors influencing denitrification comprise carbon source, C/N, temperature, pH, DO and so on. Compared to published literature reviews on HN-AD, our manuscript comprehensively summary the latest research on its nitrogen remove mechanisms and related enzymes for the first time.

Metabolomic insight into regulatory mechanism of heterotrophic bacteria nitrification-aerobic denitrification bacteria to high-strength ammonium wastewater treatment

This work aimed to elucidate the metabolic mechanism of heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HN-AD) bacteria influenced by varying concentrations of ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) in high-strength synthetic wastewater treatment. The results showed that the removal rates of NH4+-N and total nitrogen, along with enzymatic activities related to nitrification and denitrification, increased with rising NH4+-N concentrations (N500:500 mg/L, N1000:1000 mg/L and N2000:2000 mg/L). The relative abundances of HN-AD bacteria were 50 %, 62 % and 82 % in the three groups. In the N2000 group, the cAMP signaling pathway, glycerophospholipid metabolites, purines and pyrimidines related to DNA/RNA synthesis, electron donor NAD+-related energy, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and glutamate metabolism were upregulated. Therefore, influent NH4+-N at 2000 mg/L promoted glutamate metabolism to accelerate the TCA cycle, and enhanced cellular energy and advanced denitrification activity of bacteria for HN-AD. This mechanism, in turn, enhanced microbial growth and the carbon and nitrogen metabolism of bacteria for HN-AD.

A novel pure biofilm system based on aerobic denitrification for nitrate wastewater treatment: Exploring the feasibility of high total nitrogen removal under low-carbon condition

To improve the poor denitrification efficiency of traditional biological treatment for low-carbon wastewater, a novel pure biofilm moving bed biofilm reactor (PH-MBBR) based on heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HN-AD) bacteria was proposed. The start-up of PH-MBBR inoculated with HN-AD bacteria and the operating performances and microbial community composition under various C/N ratios were studied. The results showed that at C/N ratio of only 4, the total nitrogen (TN) removal rate of 10.02 mg/(L·h) was achieved under aerobic conditions. Microbial analysis indicates that the synergistic effect of oligotrophic bacteria Thauera and Azoarcus was the main reason for the high pollutant removal at C/N ratio of 4. Furthermore, the analysis of functional genes and enzymes reveals that NorB and NosZ played important roles in nitrate metabolism in PH-MBBR, and aerobic denitrification pathway was NO3–-N → NO → N2O → N2. This study provides a practical and theoretical basis for low-carbon nitrate wastewater treatment.

Feast/famine ratio regulates the succession of heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification and autotrophic ammonia oxidizing bacteria in halophilic aerobic granular sludge treating saline wastewater

Heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HN-AD) shows innovation potential of wastewater treatment process in a single tank. However, how to enrich HN-AD bacteria in activated sludge to enhance their contribution remained unknown. This study explored the impact of the feast/famine (F/F) ratio on the succession of autotrophic ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and HN-AD bacteria in a halophilic aerobic granular sludge (HAGS) system. As the F/F ratio decreased from 1/9 to 1/15, the total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) removal performance significantly decreased. The proportion of heterotrophic bacteria was dropped from 79.0 % to 33 %. Accordingly, the relative abundance of Paracoccus decreased from 70.8 % to 25.4 %, and the copy number of the napA gene was reduced from 2.2 × 1010 copies/g HAGS to 8.1 × 109 copies/g HAGS. It found the F/F ratio regulated the population succession of autotrophic AOB and HN-AD bacteria, thereby providing a solution to achieve the enrichment of HN-AD bacteria in HAGS.

Indigenous mixotrophic aerobic denitrifiers stimulated by oxygen micro/nanobubble-loaded microporous biochar

The prevalence of hypoxia in surface sediment inhibits the growth of aerobic denitrifiers in natural waters. A novel oxygen micro/nanobubble-loaded microporous biochar (OMB) was developed to activate indigenous aerobic denitrifiers in this study. The results indicate a thin-layer OMB capping mitigates hypoxia effectively. Following a 30-day microcosm-based incubation, a 60 % decrease in total nitrogen concentration was observed, and the oxygen penetration depth in the sediment was increased from <4.0 mm to 38.4 mm. High-throughput sequencing revealed the stimulation of indigenous mixotrophic aerobic denitrifiers, including autotrophic denitrifiers such as Hydrogenophaga and Thiobacillus, heterotrophic denitrifiers like Limnobacter and unclassified_f_Methylophilaceae, and heterotrophic nitrification aerobic denitrification bacteria, including Shinella and Acidovorax, with total relative abundance reaching up to 38.1 %. Further analysis showed OMB enhanced the overall collaborative relationships among microorganisms and promoted the expression of nitrification- and denitrification-related genes. This study introduces an innovative strategy for stimulating indigenous aerobic denitrifiers in aquatic ecosystems.

Microalgae-assisted heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification process for cost-effective nitrogen and phosphorus removal from high-salinity wastewater: Performance, mechanism, and bacterial community

A microalgae-assisted heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HNAD) system for efficient nutrient removal from high-salinity wastewater was constructed for the first time as a cost-effective process in the present study. Excellent nutrient removal (∼100.0 %) was achieved through the symbiotic system. The biological removal process, biologically induced phosphate precipitation (BIPP), microalgae uptake, and ammonia stripping worked together for nutrient removal. Furthermore, the biological removal process achieved by biofilm contributed to approximately 55.3–71.8 % of nitrogen removal. BIPP undertook approximately 45.6–51.8 % of phosphorus removal. Batch activity tests confirmed that HNAD fulfilled an extremely critical role in nitrogen removal. Microalgal metabolism drove BIPP to achieve efficient phosphorus removal. Moreover, as the main HNAD bacteria, OLB13 and Thauera were enriched. The preliminary energy flow analysis demonstrated that the symbiotic system could achieve energy neutrality, theoretically. The findings provide novel insights into strategies of low-carbon and efficient nutrient removal from high-salinity wastewater.

Response of Nitrogen Removal Performance and Microbial Distribution to Seasonal Shock Nutrients Load in a Lakeshore Multicell Constructed Wetland

Multicell constructed wetlands (MCWs) on lakeshores are a prospective treatment technique. However, the factors affecting the nutrient removal performance of lakeshore MCWs at the field scale are unclear. This study chose a field-scale lakeshore MCW with the highest mass removal efficiency (approximately 49,175.12 mg m−2 day−1) for total nitrogen removal in the wet season to investigate the response of nitrogen removal and microbial distribution to seasonal shock nutrients load. The mass loading rates in the wet season were as high as 43~72 times over those in the dry season. Hence, a storage pond (SP), as a forebay retention cell, was necessary to mitigate the shock loads of the influent, which is beneficial to nitrogen removal of the MCW system. The two major genera in the sediments are heterotrophic nitrification–aerobic denitrification bacteria, and the abundance and species of the nitrogen-related functional genera were higher in the wet season than the dry season. According to the results of redundancy analysis, the hydraulic residence time (29.4%, F = 2.2, p &lt; 0.1) and hydraulic loading rate (85.9, F = 36.5, p &lt; 0.05) were the major factors explaining microbial community variation, instead of environmental factors (temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen). The shock loads of influent and the periodic saturation in sediments contributed to a complicated oxygen and nitrogen nutrient exchange environment resulting in higher abundance and species of nitrogen-related microbes, which is beneficial to nitrogen removal in lakeshore MCWs. The results provided a scientific basis for the optimal design of constructed wetlands on lakeshores.

Nitrogen removal characteristics of heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification bacterium Acinetobacter ZQ-A1 and community characteristics analysis of its application in pig farm wastewater.

A heterotrophic nitrifying aerobic denitrifying (HN-AD) strain ZQ-A1 with excellent denitrification performance, identified as Acinetobacter, was isolated from simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) craft. ZQ-A1 was capable of removing NH4+, NO2-, and NO3-; the 21-hour removal rates were 84.84%, 87.13%, and 92.63%. ZQ-A1 has the ability to treat mixed nitrogen sources. In addition, ZQ-A1 can be well applied to actual sewage. According to the analysis of microbial community characteristics, the relative abundance of Acinetobacter in the experimental group increased from 0.06% to 2.38%, which is an important reason for the removal rate of NH4+ exceeding 99% within 30 days. The results of KEGG function prediction showed that with the addition of ZQ-A1, the relative abundance of pathways related to bacterial metabolism, such as tricarboxylic acid cycle metabolism, was higher. The research expanded the thinking of HN-AD bacteria in actual production and laid a foundation for its application in sewage treatment.

Nitrogen Removal Characteristics and Metabolism Mechanism of High-Efficiency Cold-Tolerant Heterotrophic Nitrification-Aerobic Denitrification Bacterium Glutamicibacter sp. WS1 for Various Nitrogen Sources at Low Temperature

For resolving the problems of poor nitrogen removal efficiency and substandard effluent quality in wastewater treatment plants during winter, a cold-tolerant strain Glutamicibacter sp. WS1, with heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification ability, was isolated from activated sludge. The functional genes for nitrogen conversion of strain WS1 were amplified by PCR, and the nitrogen removal characteristics of the strain were verified under different nitrogen sources at 15℃. In addition, the effects of environmental factors on the aerobic denitrification performance of the strain were explored at low temperature. Finally, a reasonable nitrogen metabolism pathway of strain WS1 was resolved based on functional genes and nitrogen balance analysis. The results showed that strain WS1 contained functional genes related to nitrogen conversion, including amoA, napA, nirS, and nirK genes. Notably, nirS and nirK genes coexisted in the strain. At the low temperature of 15℃, with NH4+-N, NO3--N, NO2--N+NO3--N, and NH4+-N+NO3--N as nitrogen sources, the corresponding removal efficiencies of strain WS1 were 100%, 98.10%, 99.87%+100%, and 100%+94.92%, respectively. The optimal denitrification performance of the strain was achieved with sodium citrate as the carbon source, C/N of 16, pH of 8, DO of 4.5-6.8 mg·L-1, and temperature of 30℃. In addition, the NO3--N removal efficiency of strain WS1 reached 92.50% under low temperature (15℃) and low C/N (10) conditions. Based on the results of PCR amplification and nitrogen balance analysis, heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification/aerobic denitrification and assimilation were the main pathways for nitrogen substrate removal by strain WS1, in which most of the inorganic nitrogen (47%-56%) was converted to gaseous nitrogen through heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification/aerobic denitrification. Strain WS1 has broad application prospects in the treatment of low-temperature nitrogenous wastewater.

The response of structure and nitrogen removal function of the biofilm on submerged macrophytes to high ammonium in constructed wetlands

The ammonium exceedance discharge from sewage treatment plants has a great risk to the stable operation of subsequent constructed wetlands (CWs). The effects of high ammonium shocks on submerged macrophytes and epiphytic biofilms on the leaves of submerged macrophytes in CWs were rarely mentioned in previous studies. In this paper, the 16S rRNA sequencing method was used to investigate the variation of the microbial communities in biofilms on the leaves of Vallisneria natans plants while the growth characteristics of V. natans plants were measured at different initial ammonium concentrations. The results demonstrated that the total chlorophyll and soluble sugar synthesis of V. natans plants decreased by 51.45% and 57.16%, respectively, and malondialdehyde content increased threefold after 8 days if the initial NH4+-N concentration was more than 5 mg/L. Algal density, bacterial quantity, dissolved oxygen, and pH increased with high ammonium shocks. The average removal efficiencies of total nitrogen and NH4+-N reached 73.26% and 83.94%, respectively. The heat map and relative abundance analysis represented that the relative abundances of phyla Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, and Bacteroidetes increased. The numbers of autotrophic nitrifiers and heterotrophic nitrification aerobic denitrification (HNAD) bacteria expanded in biofilms. In particular, HNAD bacteria of Flavobacterium, Hydrogenophaga, Acidovorax, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, and Azospira had higher abundances than autotrophic nitrifiers because there were organic matters secreted from declining leaves of V. natans plants. The analysis of the nitrogen metabolic pathway showed aerobic denitrification was the main nitrogen removal pathway. Thus, the nitrification and denitrification bacterial communities increased in epiphytic biofilms on submerged macrophytes in constructed wetlands while submerged macrophytes declined under ammonium shock loading.

Low-carbon and high-ammonia nitrogen dispersed wastewater treatment: From “normal-sludge” to “low-sludge” to “no-sludge” modes

Several biological enhancements were implemented in the aerobic tank to address the challenges of treating expressway service sewage (ESS) with low-carbon and high-ammonia nitrogen using A/O-MBR technology, aiming to improve TN removal efficiency and reduce excessive sludge production. A novel moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) inoculated with heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HN-AD) bacteria was developed for ESS, and the results showed that HN-AD bacteria significantly improved TN removal efficiency, with an increase of 65% compared to the traditional activated sludge system. High-throughput sequencing revealed that Bacteroidotas contributed significantly to MBBR denitrification, and the genes nirK and nosZ played a significant role in denitrification. The HN-AD biofilm-forming MBBR achieved the transition of ESS treatment from “normal-sludge” mode to the more environmentally-friendly “low-sludge” and “no-sludge” modes by reducing the sludge concentration.

Three Novel Marine Species of Paracoccus, P. aerodenitrificans sp. nov., P. sediminicola sp. nov. and P. albus sp. nov., and the Characterization of Their Capability to Perform Heterotrophic Nitrification and Aerobic Denitrification.

Heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HN-AD) is an efficient nitrogen removal process and the genus Paracoccus is one important group of the HN-AD bacteria. During an investigation of the microbial diversity in marine ranching of the Pearl River Estuary (PR China), three bacterial strains, designated SCSIO 75817T, SCSIO 76264T and SCSIO 80058T, were isolated from sediments. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the three strains belonged to the genus Paracoccus and their closest neighbors were P. isoporae DSM 22220T (97.6-98.0%), P. aurantiacus CGMCC 1.13898T (97.3-97.6%) and P. xiamenensis MCCC 1A16381T (97.1-97.4%), respectively. The analysis results of 16S rRNA gene similarity, ANI, AAI and dDDH showed that the pairwise similarities between these three strains and their closest neighbors were 97.4-98.5%, 76.9-81.0%, 75.5-79.6% and 20.3-23.3%, respectively. Polyphasic taxonomic data of the phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic analyses indicate that these strains represent three novel species in the genus Paracoccus, for which the names Paracoccus aerodenitrificans sp. nov., Paracoccus sediminicola sp. nov. and Paracoccus albus sp. nov. are proposed, respectively. The study also demonstrated the heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HN-AD) ability of the novel species P. aerodenitrificans SCSIO 75817T. When it was aerobically cultivated at 28 °C using NH4+-N, NO3--N and NO2--N as the sole nitrogen sources, the nitrogen removal efficiencies were 73.4, 55.27 and 49.2%, respectively, and the maximum removal rates were 3.05, 1.82 and 1.63 mg/L/h, respectively. The results suggest that it has promising potential for wastewater treatment.