Water Research最新文献

{"title":"Fingerprinting Complex Mixed Oil Spills at Refineries: Source Identification, Quantitative Source Apportionment, and Biodegradation Assessment","authors":"Wang Yu, Jiayi An, Jiuhao Song, Junjie Guan, Keyu Duan, Wei Zhou, Liting Tian, Jie Ma","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2025.124281","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2025.124281","url":null,"abstract":"Chemical fingerprinting is well-established for source identification of marine oil spill, however cases for contaminated industrial sites are much more complicated. This study applied an integrated framework (combining source identification, source apportionment, and biodegradation assessment) for a forensic investigation of a 50000 m² Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (LNAPL) plume. Comprehensive analysis of 28 samples (16 floating oils, 10 petroleum products, 2 crude oils) revealed four distinct oil mixtures within the LNAPL plume, each comprising varying proportions of reformulated gasoline, catalytic cracking diesel, straight-run diesel, and crude oil. More importantly, this work makes three key methodological advances: (1) We developed a new source apportionment method to quantify oil mixing ratio of ternary oil mixtures (gasoline-diesel-crude oil). The new method overcame the limitations of conventional biomarker-based approaches that was not applicable to light distillates or multi-source contamination; (2) A novel biodegradation index (BdgrI) was developed to reconcile source-specific mixing ratios with conventional biodegradation ratio, enabling standardized assessment of biodegradation degree in oil mixtures; (3) We also demonstrated that the commonly used biomarker “bicyclic sesquiterpanes” were unable to achieve accurate source identification for middle distillates with the same crude oil feedstocks and similar distillation cut temperatures, since the distribution characteristics of bicyclic sesquiterpanes in crude oil were “inherited” by middle distillates with similar distillation cut temperatures, even if they were processed through different refining technologies. These innovations significantly enhance forensic capability for complex petroleum contamination, improving source identification accuracy, guiding targeted bioremediation strategies, and providing quantitative scientific support for environmental liability allocation and remediation cost-sharing at contaminated refinery sites.","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"46 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144684885","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":"Transformer-based multi-step time series forecasting of methane yield in full-scale anaerobic digestion","authors":"Sujin Choi,&nbsp;Su In Kim,&nbsp;Chayanee Chairattanawat,&nbsp;Seokhwan Hwang","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2025.124276","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.watres.2025.124276","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate multi-step forecasting of methane yield is crucial for optimizing feedstock planning, detecting gradual process changes, and mitigating operational risks in full-scale anaerobic digestion (AD). However, previous studies have primarily focused on one-step prediction repeatedly, limiting their ability to capture long-term trends and process dynamics. To address this challenge, a Transformer-based model was employed and modified to handle the characteristics of AD datasets. Unlike autoregressive models, the Transformer utilizes parallel computation and a self-attention mechanism, enabling it to retain long-term dependencies, making it well-suited for multi-step forecasting tasks. The dataset from full-scale AD system was analyzed to assess stationarity and temporal dependencies, and the proposed model was compared with autoregressive sequential models. Results demonstrated that the proposed model outperformed others by up to 67 %, particularly in multi-step ahead forecasting. Data analysis confirmed that fluctuation in feedstock organic loading and digester temperature seasonality contributed to non-stationarity. Additionally, the model analysis revealed that the multi-head self-attention mechanism effectively captured different aspects of the time series, improving long-term dependency retention. Generalization and robustness of the model was confirmed by validating model on the three additional full-scale AD datasets. These findings highlight the potential of the Transformer model for enhancing methane yield forecasting in anaerobic digestion systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"286 ","pages":"Article 124276"},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144678154","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":"Synergistic suppression of nitrous oxide and residual nitrate in DNRA-enhanced MABR-PN/A hybrid systems","authors":"Jiao Yin ,&nbsp;Haotian Jiang ,&nbsp;Linhong Qiu ,&nbsp;Jiaxuan Yang ,&nbsp;Han Zhang ,&nbsp;Heng Liang ,&nbsp;Bing-Jie Ni","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2025.124245","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.watres.2025.124245","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To resolve NO₃⁻-N production and accumulation in MABR coupled partial nitrification-Anammox (MABR-PN/A) for autotrophic nitrogen removal enhancement, an iron-carbon (IC) mediated NO₃⁻-N dissimilation system (IC-MABR-PN/A) was developed. Results indicate that when anaerobic ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AnAOB) are not added, IC-MABR-PN enhanced NO₃⁻-N dissimilation (reducing NO₃⁻-N by 11.86±0.68 mg/L vs. MABR-PN) due to nitrite dissimilation enzyme (<em>Nrf</em>) accumulation and stronger competition for NO₂⁻-N compared to nitrite reductase (<em>Nir</em>) under IC stimulation (2.23 log₂). Besides, IC concurrently strengthened denitrification in IC-MABR-PN (TN decreased by 6.48±0.28 mg/L but N₂O accumulation by 37.9 ± 5.8 μg/L vs. MABR-PN). Notably, when AnAOB was added to IC-MABR-PN, hydrazine synthase (<em>Hzs</em>, 1.83 log₂) in IC-MABR-PN/A exhibited stronger binding affinity than nitric oxide reductase (<em>Nor</em>, -1.96 log₂), favoring NO competition in IC-MABR-PN/A and suppressing N₂O pathways (reducing its emissions to one-ninth of that in IC-MABR-PN). Anammox further regulated biofilm hydrophobicity to mitigate interfacial repulsion and iron-carbon-induced compaction, enhancing nitrogen transfer. The study achieved synergistic NO₃⁻-N removal and N₂O reduction through IC-mediated NO₃⁻-N dissimilation and Anammox competition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"286 ","pages":"Article 124245"},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144671098","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":"Evaluating the generalizability and transferability of acoustic leak detection models for water distribution networks","authors":"Chang Wang, Zhigang Liu, Jie Fei, Zhihong Long, Peng Wang, Tingchao Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2025.124273","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2025.124273","url":null,"abstract":"Acoustic Leak Detection (ALD) plays a pivotal role in ensuring the operational safety of water distribution networks (WDNs). However, the cross-domain deployment of single-scenario ALD models is significantly hindered by environmental heterogeneity (pipe materials and diameters, etc.) and data scarcity in practical WDNs. This study presents the first systematic investigation into the generalizability and transferability of ALD models across multi-source WDNs through comprehensive cross-domain evaluation. The results show that: (1) The global model trained on the multi-region WDNs exhibits better generalization ability with an average accuracy improvement of about 2% compared to the local model. (2) Fine Tuning strategy achieves high transfer performance (96.8% and 96.2% accuracy for cross-material and cross-diameter scenarios respectively), outperforming Direct Transfer and Feature Extraction methods. (3) Transfer asymmetry is related to the distribution of input data under different conditions, where metal-to-nonmetal and large-to-small diameter transfers exhibit enhanced adaptability through broader source-domain frequency coverage. (4) Target-domain data requirements with the Fine Tuning strategy can be reduced by 50% while maintaining superior accuracy compared to source-domain local models. These findings advance AI-driven ALD techniques from a single-scenario-specific perspective to more mature applications of multi-scenario-universal.","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144678155","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":"Distribution and accumulation patterns of tire-derived particles in coastal and lake sediments","authors":"Kosuke Tanaka ,&nbsp;Atsuko Amano ,&nbsp;Takuya Itaki ,&nbsp;Kei Nakayama ,&nbsp;Yusuke Takahashi ,&nbsp;Go Suzuki","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2025.124278","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.watres.2025.124278","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tire and road wear particles (TRWP) are the largest source of microplastics. These particles are generated through friction between tires and road surfaces during use, enter aquatic environments, and may affect aquatic organisms. In this study, TRWP in sediments from 11 different water bodies in Japan were analyzed using pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. TRWP were detected in 32 out of 36 samples, with concentrations up to 4260 µg/g dry weight. TRWP concentrations exceeded the estimated predicted no-effect concentration threshold at 30 out of 36 sites, indicating that potential ecological risks cannot be ruled out. A correlation was found between TRWP concentration and mud content, total organic carbon, or terrestrial organic carbon (terrOC) at sites where mud accumulates. The correlation between TRWP and terrOC was significant even at sites with a notable contribution of marine-derived mud. These findings suggest that TRWP are transported with terrestrial mud and organic matter in aquatic environments. Moreover, sedimentation patterns, as deduced from sediment properties such as mud content and elemental composition, may serve as indicators of TRWP distribution. This study contributes to transport modeling, environmental risk assessments, and development of future pollution control strategies for TRWP.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"286 ","pages":"Article 124278"},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144678153","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":"Ligand-selective complexation of natural organic matter with Mg2+ modulates nanoplastic transport in seawater-saturated porous media","authors":"Changjian Luo,&nbsp;Cun Xiong,&nbsp;Yuanzhang Hou,&nbsp;Yuping Qiu","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2025.124275","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.watres.2025.124275","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding how the intricate components of marine environments govern the transport of nanoplastics (NPs) is crucial, as this directly influences their distribution and ecosystem exposure risk. While extensive research has been conducted on natural organic matter (NOM)-regulated micro-interfacial processes of NPs in marine environments, the synergistic effect of divalent cations, particularly magnesium ion (Mg²⁺), remains underappreciated. This study elucidates how ligand-specific NOM-Mg²⁺ complexation significantly influences the transport behavior of NPs in seawater. In 35 PSU seawater, humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA) increased NP surface charge, achieving ζ-potentials of -25.46 mV and -19.58 mV, as compared to -18.00 mV for pristine particles. These macromolecules maintained colloidal stability with hydrodynamic diameters (<em>d</em>_DLS) around 600 nm and enhanced mobility, elevating the mass percentages of effluent (<em>M</em>_eff) from 26.5% to 43.9% and 35.4%, respectively. In contrast, tannic acid (TA) reduced ζ-potential to -10.33 mV, triggering severe aggregation with a <em>d</em>_DLS of 919 nm and diminished mobility, reducing <em>M</em>_eff of 7.28%. Removing Mg²⁺ mitigated HA/FA-mediated mobility enhancements, decreasing <em>M</em>_eff to 29.7% and 35.6%, and restored TA-induced mobility suppression, bringing <em>M</em>_eff back to 28.0%, confirming the significance role of NOM-Mg²⁺ interactions. Concentration-dependent experiments indicated that HA/FA-enhanced mobility correlated with Mg²⁺ and NOM levels, whereas TA-induced suppression was solely dependent on Mg²⁺ levels, emphasizing the more pronounced impact of TA-Mg²⁺ complexes. Mechanistically, weak binding of Mg²⁺ to high-molecular-weight HA (112 kDa) and FA (79 kDa), with constants <em>K</em>_M = 0.289 and 0.697, contributed to partial charge neutralization and steric hindrance. Conversely, low-molecular-weight TA (1.9 kDa) formed strong catechol-Mg²⁺ bridges (<em>K</em>_M = 3.746), inducing charge-neutral aggregates. Two-dimensional correlation Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (2D-COS-FTIR) and solid-state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses identified carboxyl/phenolic groups in HA/FA and ortho-polyphenols in TA as primary Mg²⁺ binding sites, indicating that structural differences among various NOM results in distinct ligand selectivity in their interactions with Mg²⁺. Molecular dynamics simulations illustrated TA-Mg²⁺ bridging dynamically induced large NP aggregates within 20 nanoseconds. These findings highlight the importance of ligand-selective NOM-Mg²⁺ complexation as a critical regulator of NP fate in marine ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"286 ","pages":"Article 124275"},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144677728","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":"Hydrophilicity-dependent photodegradation of antibiotics in ice: Freeze-concentration effects and dissolved organic matter interactions drive divergent kinetics, pathways and toxicity","authors":"Jingshuang Cui ,&nbsp;Yue Chen ,&nbsp;Fangyuan Cheng ,&nbsp;Hao Yang ,&nbsp;Jiao Qu ,&nbsp;Ya-nan Zhang ,&nbsp;Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2025.124277","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.watres.2025.124277","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The photodegradation behavior of antibiotics with different hydrophilicity in ice and the synergistic effect of dissolved organic matter (DOM) remains unclear. This study unravels the dual role of DOM in driving divergent photodegradation pathways for five antibiotics (sulfamethoxazole (SMZ), oxytetracycline (OTC), levofloxacin (LFX), ciprofloxacin (CIP), and norfloxacin (NOR)) with different hydrophilicity in ice and compares the outcomes with a similar treatment in aqueous systems under simulated sunlight. The results showed that the photodegradation of hydrophilic antibiotics (SMZ, OTC, LFX) in ice is faster compared to water, which attributed to freeze-concentration effects that enhance light absorption in ice’s liquid-like regions (LLRs). Conversely, hydrophobic antibiotics (CIP, NOR) degraded faster in water due to solvent cage effects. DOM amplified the photodegradation of hydrophilic antibiotics in ice by enriching humic-like substances in LLRs, which generated more reactive singlet oxygen (e.g. 77.1 % contribution to SMZ degradation), while inhibited the photodegradation of hydrophobic antibiotic via protein-like substances that quench excited states. Notably, DOM introduced ice-specific oxidative pathways of hydrophilic antibiotics, which altered their toxicity profiles and complicated toxicity trends toward <em>Vibrio fischeri</em>. These findings highlight the critical role of ice-phase photochemistry in cold regions, influencing antibiotic fate, transformation pathways, and ecological risks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"286 ","pages":"Article 124277"},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144677896","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":"Short-chain per/polyfluoroalkyl substances alternatives enhance horizontal gene transfer risks in nitrification systems under quaternary ammonia compounds antimicrobials co-stress despite lower acute toxicity than perfluorooctanoic acid","authors":"Hanyi Wang, Jingfeng Gao, Yingchao Cui, Yuxuan Wang, Yi Guo, Hao Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2025.124274","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2025.124274","url":null,"abstract":"The ecological risks posed by per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and quaternary ammonia compounds (QACs), as emerging contaminants, to the aquatic environment have recently attracted considerable attention. However, it is still unclear whether and how the combined pressure of PFAS and QACs affect wastewater treatment system performance and modulate the transmission of resistance genes (RGs). In this paper, it was investigated that the ecological impacts of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and its alternatives, perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS) and perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) on nitrification systems with/without diallyl dimethylammonium chloride (DADMAC), a typical QACs disinfectant during 120 days. Results showed that 3 mg/L PFOA significantly reduced ammonia removal efficiency, while 0-3 mg/L PFBS and PFHxA had no significant impacts. Interestingly, the addition of 0.3 mg/L DADMAC mitigated the inhibitory effect of PFOA on ammonia oxidation and elevated the abundance of complete ammonia oxidizers <em>amoA</em> and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria <em>amoA</em> genes by 15.8%-52.9% and 45.0%-113.9%, respectively, through looser protein structures of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and more RGs activated. Under single stress, the abundance of total RGs exhibited first decreasing and then increasing trends with increasing concentrations of all three PFAS, and 3 mg/L PFOA enriched the highest. Under combined stress, PFOA led to the highest abundance of RGs by adding 0.3 mg/L DADMAC, while PFBS resulted in the highest abundance of RGs by adding 3 mg/L DADMAC. Notably, the system with PFBS was observed to have the highest abundance of mobile genetic elements (MGEs), followed by PFHxA, particularly inducing intracellular MGEs in sludge to maintain richness and continuity during combined stress stages. Moreover, MGEs were found to have the most positive contribution to the multiplication of antibiotic resistance genes in all three systems. Overall, although PFBS and PFHxA are regarded as typical alternatives to PFOA and are significantly less toxic to the nitrification system compared with PFOA, both alternatives resulted in higher levels of MGEs, especially posing a more severe risk of horizontal gene transfer in the combined stress environment. Thus, this requires a focus on the RGs transmission risks of using PFAS and its alternatives in disinfectant-intensive environments.","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144677731","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":"Solar-activated ZnS@MXene heterostructure for integrated radioactive wastewater treatment and energy harvesting","authors":"Yi-Lin Liu ,&nbsp;Ping Cao ,&nbsp;Qingyan Zhang,&nbsp;Changgui Guo,&nbsp;Jing Li,&nbsp;Qingyi Zeng","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2025.124254","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.watres.2025.124254","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The presence of ubiquitous organic contaminants in radioactive wastewater poses formidable challenges for conventional uranium extraction technologies. Herein, we architect an auto-photopotential driven catalytic system (APDCS) through rational integration of ZnS@MXene/CF cathodes with monolithic photoanodes, achieving triple-functional uranium recovery, organic pollutant degradation, and simultaneous power generation from complex radioactive effluents. The ZnS@MXene heterostructure, synthesized via ZIF-8 sulfidation on MXene nanosheets, achieved 22-fold faster U(VI) extraction, 4.3× enhanced tetracycline degradation, and superior power density versus conventional CF cathodes. Ti-O-Zn bonds facilitated efficient electron transport, reducing charge resistance and boosting uranium reduction. Under natural sunlight, APDCS maintained 97 % UO₂²⁺ removal and 95 % TCH degradation efficiency, with &lt;5 % performance decline over 15 cycles. This solar-powered platform, leveraging precise heterojunction nanoarchitecture, establishes a stable tri-functional synergy, offering a sustainable strategy for concurrent energy-water remediation and radioactive waste management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"286 ","pages":"Article 124254"},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144664390","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":"Prevalence and functional impact of the interactions between lysogenic phages and hosts in activated sludge systems: insights from large-scale metagenomics and experimental evidence","authors":"Jie Li, Depeng Wang, Qifeng Zhang, Xiwei He, Peng Liu, Lin Ye, Hongqiang Ren, Xu-Xiang Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.watres.2025.124270","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2025.124270","url":null,"abstract":"Bacteriophages are the most common biological entities in the activated sludge (AS) of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), playing an important role in maintaining or regulating the microbial community. However, the interactions between bacteria and lysogenic phages in AS systems remain poorly understood. In this study, we reconstructed metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from 43 full-scale WWTPs across five countries and found that over 55% of MAGs in AS were lysogenic, highlighting the widespread interactions between lysogenic phages and their hosts. Additionally, diverse novel prophages embedded in the lysogenic MAGs formed complex phage-host interactions, as revealed by the phage-host network, underscoring the intricate relationships between prophages and their microbial hosts. Through <em>in-silico</em> approaches and experimental validation, we confirmed the inducibility and activity of the prophages, showing that prophage induction significantly contributes to the lysis of microorganisms involved in the aerobic oxidation of organic matter, as well as nitrogen and phosphorus removal. This work represents a pioneering large-scale genome-centric metagenomic study, coupled with experimental validation, that uncovers the predominance of lysogenic phage-host interactions in AS systems. It advances our understanding of the pivotal role of prophages in shaping the AS microbiome, particularly in influencing the microbial processes responsible for pollutant degradation and nitrogen and phosphorus removal.","PeriodicalId":443,"journal":{"name":"Water Research","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144670155","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}