Interactions between the Microbial Community and Organic Matter in Aquatic Environments

Dear Colleagues,

Natural watersheds harbor a stunningly diverse collection of microbial communities. Such microorganisms play a dominant role in the migration and transformation of dissolved organic matter in water bodies, and thus, contribute significantly to the biogeochemical cycling of nutrient elements. Nevertheless, nutrients and emerging chemicals have been continuously released into the environment through ever-growing anthropogenic activities, leading to a dramatic enrichment of the organic matter found in watersheds. In recent years, the increasing amounts of humic substances that have accumulated in water bodies, including organic nitrogen, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, microplastics, per- and polyfluorinated substances, as well as various other dissolved organic industrial chemicals, have been widely and largely detected in natural watersheds, raising concerns about health and ecological safety. Given the fact that microorganisms are sensitive to such exotic inputs and are exposed to them directly, the interactions between aquatic microorganisms and organic matter are particularly important for our understanding of microbial toxicology, but the fate of these nutrient elements, however, remains insufficiently investigated. The present Special Issue aims to deepen our knowledge of the interactions between aquatic microbial communities and organic matter, including, but not limited to, microbial upcycling, transportation, mitigation, community changes, and toxicology. We call for both original research papers of high scientific quality and state-of-the-art review articles within the scope of this Special Issue.

Dr. Minmin Pan
Dr. Song Wang
Dr. Jingjing Du
Guest Editors

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• watershed environmental microbiology
• dissolved organic matter
• biogeochemical cycling
• microbial toxicology
• interactions