Pub Date : 2026-02-09DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2026.125544
Section snippets
Why We Use Up-Front Rejections
Up-front rejections filter out manuscripts unlikely to meet Water Research’s quality or scope requirements before peer review. This ensures efficient use of reviewer time and provides authors with swift decisions, allowing faster resubmission elsewhere. While authors may receive brief editorial feedback rather than detailed reviewer comments, this accelerates the process. We strive for fair decisions but acknowledge occasional errors and apologize for any oversight. Our goal is to balance the
Common Reasons for Up-Front Rejection
•Lack of Novelty or Research Significance: Papers must offer original contributions, avoiding incremental results or "salami slicing" (splitting findings across multiple submissions). Submissions should demonstrate significant advancements in water research.
•Out of Scope: Water Research is an interdisciplinary journal emphasizing applied water-related research. Papers focusing on supporting disciplines (e.g., chemistry, microbiology, toxicology, material science) without clear, practical
Aligning with Water Research’s Scope
Water Research prioritizes interdisciplinary, applied research that advances the understanding and management of water-related challenges. Submissions should clearly demonstrate relevance to the journal’s mission and audience. Papers narrowly focused on a single discipline without connecting to broader water research themes are unlikely to be accepted. The journal focuses on the anthropogenic water system (water resources, drinking water treatment, water distribution, wastewater collection and
Tips for a Successful Submission
•Present novel, impactful, and generalizable findings supported by robust data.
•Clearly articulate how your work aligns with Water Research’s interdisciplinary and applied focus.
•Provide a strong literature foundation with diverse, relevant citations.
•Include a clear statement of research goals at the end of the introduction.
•Ensure the conclusion delivers a clear take-home message derived from your work.
•Submit a concise, well-written manuscript that adheres to author guidelines.
•Avoid common
{"title":"Avoiding Up-Front Rejection: Why Your Paper May Not Be Suitable for Water Research","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2026.125544","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2026.125544","url":null,"abstract":"<h2>Section snippets</h2><section><section><h2>Why We Use Up-Front Rejections</h2>Up-front rejections filter out manuscripts unlikely to meet Water Research’s quality or scope requirements before peer review. This ensures efficient use of reviewer time and provides authors with swift decisions, allowing faster resubmission elsewhere. While authors may receive brief editorial feedback rather than detailed reviewer comments, this accelerates the process. We strive for fair decisions but acknowledge occasional errors and apologize for any oversight. Our goal is to balance the</section></section><section><section><h2>Common Reasons for Up-Front Rejection</h2><ul><li><span>•</span><span>Lack of Novelty or Research Significance: Papers must offer original contributions, avoiding incremental results or \"salami slicing\" (splitting findings across multiple submissions). Submissions should demonstrate significant advancements in water research.</span></li><li><span>•</span><span>Out of Scope: Water Research is an interdisciplinary journal emphasizing applied water-related research. Papers focusing on supporting disciplines (e.g., chemistry, microbiology, toxicology, material science) without clear, practical</span></li></ul></section></section><section><section><h2>Aligning with Water Research’s Scope</h2>Water Research prioritizes interdisciplinary, applied research that advances the understanding and management of water-related challenges. Submissions should clearly demonstrate relevance to the journal’s mission and audience. Papers narrowly focused on a single discipline without connecting to broader water research themes are unlikely to be accepted. The journal focuses on the anthropogenic water system (water resources, drinking water treatment, water distribution, wastewater collection and</section></section><section><section><h2>Tips for a Successful Submission</h2><ul><li><span>•</span><span>Present novel, impactful, and generalizable findings supported by robust data.</span></li><li><span>•</span><span>Clearly articulate how your work aligns with Water Research’s interdisciplinary and applied focus.</span></li><li><span>•</span><span>Provide a strong literature foundation with diverse, relevant citations.</span></li><li><span>•</span><span>Include a clear statement of research goals at the end of the introduction.</span></li><li><span>•</span><span>Ensure the conclusion delivers a clear take-home message derived from your work.</span></li><li><span>•</span><span>Submit a concise, well-written manuscript that adheres to author guidelines.</span></li><li><span>•</span><span>Avoid common</span></li></ul></section></section>","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"109 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146138847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-07DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2026.125531
Lunhui Lu, Xingqian Jian, Shanshan Lin, Zhe Li, Qiong Tang, Yan Xiao, Yuanyuan Zhang, Dianchang Wang
Microbial communities in river ecosystems regulate biogeochemical cycling and serve as natural bioremediators for environmental pollutants. However, accurately predicting their dynamic responses to changing conditions remains a significant scientific challenge because of the complexity of microbial interactions and ecosystem-scale feedbacks. Here, a novel compositional neural encoder-decoder (cNED) framework was developed, coupling environmental variables with microbial profiles based on an extensive collection of 473 samples from the upper Yangtze River. A total of 157 core bacterial OTUs were identified from 27,932 OTUs by the occupancy-frequency method, which were predominantly governed by deterministic assembly processes. The identified core microbiome demonstrated significant functional associations with carbon and nitrogen cycling. Compared with conventional modeling approaches (multilayer perceptron, random forests, linear regression), the cNED framework demonstrated superior predictive performance, achieving high accuracy in taxonomic prediction and functional profile prediction (carbon cycling: R² = 0.85; nitrogen cycling: R² = 0.52). The Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) analysis identified spatial gradients and temperature as key environmental drivers. Generalized Additive Models uncovered phylum- and function-specific tipping points: Proteobacteria exhibited a dual-threshold thermal niche (20.5–27 °C), while functions like methylotrophy and nitrogen fixation responded nonlinearly to temperature and TN, revealing unimodal or monotonic transitions. The cNED framework developed in this study establishes an interpretable predictive framework for forecasting microbial community and functional responses to environmental perturbations, offering valuable insights for evidence-based river ecosystem management and climate adaptation strategies.
{"title":"The cNED framework: modeling core microbial communities and metabolic functions with SHAP-interpretable environmental thresholds in large rivers","authors":"Lunhui Lu, Xingqian Jian, Shanshan Lin, Zhe Li, Qiong Tang, Yan Xiao, Yuanyuan Zhang, Dianchang Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2026.125531","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2026.125531","url":null,"abstract":"Microbial communities in river ecosystems regulate biogeochemical cycling and serve as natural bioremediators for environmental pollutants. However, accurately predicting their dynamic responses to changing conditions remains a significant scientific challenge because of the complexity of microbial interactions and ecosystem-scale feedbacks. Here, a novel compositional neural encoder-decoder (cNED) framework was developed, coupling environmental variables with microbial profiles based on an extensive collection of 473 samples from the upper Yangtze River. A total of 157 core bacterial OTUs were identified from 27,932 OTUs by the occupancy-frequency method, which were predominantly governed by deterministic assembly processes. The identified core microbiome demonstrated significant functional associations with carbon and nitrogen cycling. Compared with conventional modeling approaches (multilayer perceptron, random forests, linear regression), the cNED framework demonstrated superior predictive performance, achieving high accuracy in taxonomic prediction and functional profile prediction (carbon cycling: R² = 0.85; nitrogen cycling: R² = 0.52). The Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) analysis identified spatial gradients and temperature as key environmental drivers. Generalized Additive Models uncovered phylum- and function-specific tipping points: <em>Proteobacteria</em> exhibited a dual-threshold thermal niche (20.5–27 °C), while functions like methylotrophy and nitrogen fixation responded nonlinearly to temperature and TN, revealing unimodal or monotonic transitions. The cNED framework developed in this study establishes an interpretable predictive framework for forecasting microbial community and functional responses to environmental perturbations, offering valuable insights for evidence-based river ecosystem management and climate adaptation strategies.","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"70 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146129685","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Unveiling the environmental fate and risks of non-heterocyclic sulfacetamide: From a novel degradation mechanism to microecological effects","authors":"Guoqiang Zhao, Wenjing Chen, Wanying Zhang, Rui Zhang, Xing Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2026.125520","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2026.125520","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"73 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146135423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The development of green, high-efficiency biocides is critical for the effective control of microbial biofilms in water treatment processes. In this study, lignin nanoparticles (NPs), with an average size of around 30 nm, were synthesized via a ‘green’ process and applied as biocides. A gravity-driven ultrafiltration membrane system was employed to investigate their effects on biofilm composition. The results showed that when the dosage of lignin NPs was only 1 mg C/L, the abundances of bacteria and fungi in the membrane biofilms were reduced by more than 98%, and the total protein and polysaccharide contents in the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) decreased significantly, demonstrating remarkable advantages. The core antimicrobial mechanism involves two synergistic effects: (1) Hydrogen bonds are formed between the hydrophilic carboxyl groups on lignin nanoparticles (NPs) and EPS-components of microbial cell walls, directly inhibiting microbial viability and proliferation while reducing EPS secretion; (2) Lignin NPs are oxidized to aromatic derivatives, with benzene rings converted into hydroxyl-enriched phenolic structures, and the concurrent elevation of carbonyl (C=O) groups in extracellular proteins enhances hydrophobicity. The oxidized lignin NPs then amplify antimicrobial efficacy via hydrophobic associations with these modified aromatic compounds and proteins. This work provides a novel approach and new insights into the rational design of green biocides and the regulation of membrane biofilms.
{"title":"Impacts of lignin nanoparticles as antibacterial agents on the composition of biofilms in water treatment","authors":"Jiesi Zhang, Yufei Li, Nigel Graham, Minmin Liu, Wenzheng Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2026.125533","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2026.125533","url":null,"abstract":"The development of green, high-efficiency biocides is critical for the effective control of microbial biofilms in water treatment processes. In this study, lignin nanoparticles (NPs), with an average size of around 30 nm, were synthesized via a ‘green’ process and applied as biocides. A gravity-driven ultrafiltration membrane system was employed to investigate their effects on biofilm composition. The results showed that when the dosage of lignin NPs was only 1 mg C/L, the abundances of bacteria and fungi in the membrane biofilms were reduced by more than 98%, and the total protein and polysaccharide contents in the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) decreased significantly, demonstrating remarkable advantages. The core antimicrobial mechanism involves two synergistic effects: (1) Hydrogen bonds are formed between the hydrophilic carboxyl groups on lignin nanoparticles (NPs) and EPS-components of microbial cell walls, directly inhibiting microbial viability and proliferation while reducing EPS secretion; (2) Lignin NPs are oxidized to aromatic derivatives, with benzene rings converted into hydroxyl-enriched phenolic structures, and the concurrent elevation of carbonyl (C=O) groups in extracellular proteins enhances hydrophobicity. The oxidized lignin NPs then amplify antimicrobial efficacy via hydrophobic associations with these modified aromatic compounds and proteins. This work provides a novel approach and new insights into the rational design of green biocides and the regulation of membrane biofilms.","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146129686","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-07DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2026.125532
Weichen Wang, Guowangchen Liu, Mingjing Wang, Yan Pan, Yukun Ma, Lu Yang, Jing Sang, Zhenyao Shen, Lei Chen
Water-quality management requires high-frequency monitoring data, which remains challenging, especially in watersheds exhibit pronounced spatial heterogeneity and sparse monitoring stations. To address this gap, this study proposes a Process-Model-Informed Graph Attention Network (PMIGAT) that integrates in situ observations and process-based variables from a process-based model, and implements intermittent satellite-retrieved water quality data as weak supervision to improve predictions at ungauged reaches. A similarity-guided graph attention module is further introduced to enable targeted transfer of supervisory information from monitored nodes to ungauged reaches based on hydrological and landscape similarity. The proposed method was evaluated for nitrogen simulation in the Hangbu River Basin, China. Results showed that the Kling–Gupta efficiency (KGE) at continuously monitored reaches was 0.66, and the median KGE at sparsely gauged reaches reached 0.60 on dates with satellite retrievals. On ungauged reaches on dates without satellite retrievals, PMIGAT outperformed the process-based model, such as Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), increasing R² from 0.01 to 0.46 and reducing the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) from 64% to 26%. Furthermore, the new method also improved the detection of high-concentration events with critical success index increasing from 0.04 to 0.28, and the relative peak error decreasing from 60% to 13%. Ablation analyses indicated that satellite retrievals contributed the largest gains at sparsely gauged reaches, and its synergy with similarity-guided graph attention module strengthened with higher satellite availability, shorter along-river distance to the outlet, and greater land-surface similarity. The method can generate spatiotemporally daily water-quality data despite intermittent monitoring, supporting accurate hotspot identification and watershed management.
{"title":"Improving watershed-scale daily nutrient simulation using a process-model-informed graph attention network with multi-source data integration","authors":"Weichen Wang, Guowangchen Liu, Mingjing Wang, Yan Pan, Yukun Ma, Lu Yang, Jing Sang, Zhenyao Shen, Lei Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2026.125532","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2026.125532","url":null,"abstract":"Water-quality management requires high-frequency monitoring data, which remains challenging, especially in watersheds exhibit pronounced spatial heterogeneity and sparse monitoring stations. To address this gap, this study proposes a Process-Model-Informed Graph Attention Network (PMIGAT) that integrates in situ observations and process-based variables from a process-based model, and implements intermittent satellite-retrieved water quality data as weak supervision to improve predictions at ungauged reaches. A similarity-guided graph attention module is further introduced to enable targeted transfer of supervisory information from monitored nodes to ungauged reaches based on hydrological and landscape similarity. The proposed method was evaluated for nitrogen simulation in the Hangbu River Basin, China. Results showed that the Kling–Gupta efficiency (KGE) at continuously monitored reaches was 0.66, and the median KGE at sparsely gauged reaches reached 0.60 on dates with satellite retrievals. On ungauged reaches on dates without satellite retrievals, PMIGAT outperformed the process-based model, such as Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), increasing R² from 0.01 to 0.46 and reducing the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) from 64% to 26%. Furthermore, the new method also improved the detection of high-concentration events with critical success index increasing from 0.04 to 0.28, and the relative peak error decreasing from 60% to 13%. Ablation analyses indicated that satellite retrievals contributed the largest gains at sparsely gauged reaches, and its synergy with similarity-guided graph attention module strengthened with higher satellite availability, shorter along-river distance to the outlet, and greater land-surface similarity. The method can generate spatiotemporally daily water-quality data despite intermittent monitoring, supporting accurate hotspot identification and watershed management.","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"45 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146129687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cladophora blooms, exacerbated by climate change and littoral eutrophication, pose a significant ecological threat. Of particular concern is their potential to disrupt phytoplankton and bacterial assemblages, triggering a cascade of effects that may include shifts in nutrient cycling and the dissemination of resistomes. However, the mechanistic links between Cladophora’s life-stage-dependent dissolved organic matter (DOM) release, its role in restructuring epiphytic communities, and its promotion of resistome dissemination in natural, oligotrophic lakes remain poorly understood. To address this, this study integrates field and laboratory investigations of Cladophora qinghaiensis sp. nov.. The algal phycosphere functions as a dynamic “gene incubator”, driven by chemical shifts in algal‑derived DOM. During decay under low‑oxygen conditions, DOM composition transitions from tyrosine‑like proteins to recalcitrant fulvic‑acid‑like compounds, selectively enriching competitive, intrinsically resistant taxa such as Halomonas and Phacus. Microbes such as Acinetobacter drive nutrient cycling (e.g., nitrogen metabolism) and serve as hotspots for resistomes within the phycosphere. Contrary to the expectation that high cell density favors horizontal gene transfer (HGT), genomic analyses show that vertical gene transfer (VGT) dominates antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) proliferation in this niche, a pattern explained by strong DOM‑mediated host selection and subsequent propagation. In contrast, the resistome in the surrounding water is more diverse and primarily shaped by HGT via mobile genetic elements. These results establish a mechanistic link between life‑stage‑specific algal DOM components, selective epiphytic communities enrichment, and divergent pathways of resistome evolution, positioning the phycosphere as a key source of ARGs that amplifies ecological risk in nearshore environments.
{"title":"Cladophora drives the evolution of its epiphytic communities and antibiotic resistome in the littoral zone of Qinghai Lake","authors":"Jia Jia, Hongyi Ao, Xiong Xiong, Shuai Wang, Xiaoyan Xi, Kelong Chen, Chenxi Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2026.125530","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2026.125530","url":null,"abstract":"<em>Cladophora</em> blooms, exacerbated by climate change and littoral eutrophication, pose a significant ecological threat. Of particular concern is their potential to disrupt phytoplankton and bacterial assemblages, triggering a cascade of effects that may include shifts in nutrient cycling and the dissemination of resistomes. However, the mechanistic links between <em>Cladophora</em>’s life-stage-dependent dissolved organic matter (DOM) release, its role in restructuring epiphytic communities, and its promotion of resistome dissemination in natural, oligotrophic lakes remain poorly understood. To address this, this study integrates field and laboratory investigations of <em>Cladophora qinghaiensis</em> sp. nov.. The algal phycosphere functions as a dynamic “gene incubator”, driven by chemical shifts in algal‑derived DOM. During decay under low‑oxygen conditions, DOM composition transitions from tyrosine‑like proteins to recalcitrant fulvic‑acid‑like compounds, selectively enriching competitive, intrinsically resistant taxa such as <em>Halomonas</em> and <em>Phacus</em>. Microbes such as <em>Acinetobacter</em> drive nutrient cycling (e.g., nitrogen metabolism) and serve as hotspots for resistomes within the phycosphere. Contrary to the expectation that high cell density favors horizontal gene transfer (HGT), genomic analyses show that vertical gene transfer (VGT) dominates antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) proliferation in this niche, a pattern explained by strong DOM‑mediated host selection and subsequent propagation. In contrast, the resistome in the surrounding water is more diverse and primarily shaped by HGT via mobile genetic elements. These results establish a mechanistic link between life‑stage‑specific algal DOM components, selective epiphytic communities enrichment, and divergent pathways of resistome evolution, positioning the phycosphere as a key source of ARGs that amplifies ecological risk in nearshore environments.","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"91 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146129689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-06DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2026.125517
Jianquan Peng, Siheng Zhao, Shengchao Zhao, Mingbin Chen, Kuo Chen, Q. Jason Niu
{"title":"Synthesis of Thin Film Composite Membranes via Acid-Assisted Interfacial Polymerization for Water Desalination","authors":"Jianquan Peng, Siheng Zhao, Shengchao Zhao, Mingbin Chen, Kuo Chen, Q. Jason Niu","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2026.125517","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2026.125517","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"89 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146135427","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-06DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2026.125519
Lihua Niu, Yao Pan, Yi Li, Xuekai Chen, Xiaobo Liu, Yamei Chen, Longfei Wang, Wenming Zhang
As an important water replenishment measure for urban rivers, the input of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents can change both the nutrient loading and the microbial community diversity of receiving rivers. However, our knowledge of the characteristics of viral communities and virus-mediated nitrogen-cycling processes in WWTP effluents-receiving rivers remains very limited. In this study, the prokaryotic virus, host and non-host communities in sediments were detected via metagenome and virome methods, to explore the variation characteristics of viral communities, interactions with hosts and virus-mediated nitrogen-cycling processes along the upper reference reach (UR), middle receiving reach (MR) and lower recovery reach (LR) of a typical WWTP effluents-receiving river. The results showed that compared to the non-hosts, viruses and hosts were much more sensitive to the influence of WWTP effluents. Among the three reaches, viruses and hosts showed more obvious spatial variability in community diversity and structures than those of non-hosts. Compared to UR, viruses in MR displayed the highest community diversity and virus-to-host abundance ratio, while viruses in LR maintained the high abundance ratio. Co-occurrence network analysis indicated the more important central roles of viruses than those of prokaryotes in bridging species or groups within the virus-host-prokaryote communities, especially in MR and LR. Functional gene analyses revealed that viral communities might potentially regulate nitrogen cycles in MR and LR via two pathways: directly carrying more abundant nitrogen-related auxiliary metabolic genes (N-vAMGs) and indirectly regulating hosts involved in nitrogen transformations (N-hosts) via enriched viruses, which showed strong responses to nitrogen loadings (TN and NO3--N) in rivers. Both N-vAMGs and virus-enrichment N-hosts, dominantly involved in denitrification, dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium, and organic degradation and synthesis processes, significantly increased in MR and LR, which highlighted a long-term regulation potential of viral communities to WWTP effluents-receiving rivers. Together, these findings provided a new insight into the nonnegligible ecological role of viruses in influencing biogeochemical cycles in WWTP effluents-receiving urban rivers.
{"title":"WWTP effluents influence prokaryotic viral diversity and interaction with hosts: regulating the virus-mediated nitrogen-cycling processes in river sediments","authors":"Lihua Niu, Yao Pan, Yi Li, Xuekai Chen, Xiaobo Liu, Yamei Chen, Longfei Wang, Wenming Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2026.125519","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2026.125519","url":null,"abstract":"As an important water replenishment measure for urban rivers, the input of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents can change both the nutrient loading and the microbial community diversity of receiving rivers. However, our knowledge of the characteristics of viral communities and virus-mediated nitrogen-cycling processes in WWTP effluents-receiving rivers remains very limited. In this study, the prokaryotic virus, host and non-host communities in sediments were detected via metagenome and virome methods, to explore the variation characteristics of viral communities, interactions with hosts and virus-mediated nitrogen-cycling processes along the upper reference reach (UR), middle receiving reach (MR) and lower recovery reach (LR) of a typical WWTP effluents-receiving river. The results showed that compared to the non-hosts, viruses and hosts were much more sensitive to the influence of WWTP effluents. Among the three reaches, viruses and hosts showed more obvious spatial variability in community diversity and structures than those of non-hosts. Compared to UR, viruses in MR displayed the highest community diversity and virus-to-host abundance ratio, while viruses in LR maintained the high abundance ratio. Co-occurrence network analysis indicated the more important central roles of viruses than those of prokaryotes in bridging species or groups within the virus-host-prokaryote communities, especially in MR and LR. Functional gene analyses revealed that viral communities might potentially regulate nitrogen cycles in MR and LR via two pathways: directly carrying more abundant nitrogen-related auxiliary metabolic genes (N-vAMGs) and indirectly regulating hosts involved in nitrogen transformations (N-hosts) via enriched viruses, which showed strong responses to nitrogen loadings (TN and NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup>-N) in rivers. Both N-vAMGs and virus-enrichment N-hosts, dominantly involved in denitrification, dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium, and organic degradation and synthesis processes, significantly increased in MR and LR, which highlighted a long-term regulation potential of viral communities to WWTP effluents-receiving rivers. Together, these findings provided a new insight into the nonnegligible ecological role of viruses in influencing biogeochemical cycles in WWTP effluents-receiving urban rivers.","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146129688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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