Microbial Diversity in Freshwater Ecosystems
A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Biodiversity and Functionality of Aquatic Ecosystems".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2026 | Viewed by 13
Special Issue Editor
Interests: microbial ecology; freshwater ecosystems; water quality; host-microbiome interactions; environmental stressors; antimicrobial resistance; cyanobacterial blooms
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Freshwater ecosystems, including rivers, lakes, ponds, wetlands, and groundwater, harbor incredibly diverse microbes that play an important role in nutrient cycling, ecosystem functioning, and water quality maintenance. Microbial communities in these environments are highly dynamic and sensitive to natural variations, as well as anthropogenic influences such as pollution, climate change, eutrophication, and land-use change. Despite their ecological importance, microbial diversity in freshwater habitats remains underexplored compared to marine or terrestrial systems.
This Special Issue will bring together cutting-edge research that enhances our understanding of microbial diversity, community structure, and function in freshwater ecosystems across geographical and temporal scales. We welcome submissions on microbial ecology, metagenomics, bioinformatics, environmental microbiology, and biogeochemical interactions. Studies employing innovative methodologies to characterize microbial taxa, functional genes, or microbial responses to environmental stressors are particularly encouraged. Comparative analyses, novel methodological approaches, and applied perspectives on microbial indicators for freshwater health are also of interest.
By showcasing diverse research approaches and case studies, this Special Issue will highlight the ecological and applied significance of microbial diversity in shaping the health, resilience, and sustainability of freshwater ecosystems worldwide.
Dr. Siddiq Akbar
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- freshwater microbial diversity
- aquatic microbiome dynamics
- microbial indicators of water quality
- metagenomic profiling of freshwater
- microbial responses to environmental stress
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