As a new and ubiquitous trace organic pollutant, endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) can cause endocrine-disrupting effects on organisms even at low levels. However, little information is available on the resource and assessment of EDC risks in the water environment. The study area was selected based on the paucity of information on the pollution status of inland lakes. Wuhan has numerous and diverse types of lakes which receive micropollutants from different pathways. In this study, the spatial distribution, occurrence, quantity and ecological risks of EDCs in 12 lakes were investigated. Five EDCs, including 17-alpha-ethinylestradiol (17α-EE₂), estrone (E₁), β-estradiol (β-E₂), estriol (E₃) and bisphenol A (BPA) were detected in surface waters. The distribution of EDC content in the lakes was ordered as follows: exurban zone < suburban area < urban areas. The pollution sources in remote lakes mainly included agricultural and aquaculture wastewater, while those in suburban and urban areas included domestic or industrial wastewater. Areas with higher EDC content were frequently related to agricultural activities, aquaculture water or dense populations. Water quality parameters, including dissolved oxygen, pH and water temperature, were significantly related to the occurrence and distribution of EDCs in the lakes. Risk assessment demonstrated that the occurrence of EDCs posed minimum to medium risk to aquatic organisms in the lakes. The results showed that the lakes faced a threat hormone pollution though it was at lower doses and, thus, the ecological risk of EDCs should be considered in future environmental policies and decisions in China.

17α-ethinylestradiol (17α-EE₂) is frequently detected in water bodies due to its use being widespread in the treatment of prostate and breast cancer and in the control of alopecia, posing a threat to humans and aquatic organisms. However, studies on its toxicity to Chlorella pyrenoidosa have been limited to date. This study investigated the effects of 17α-EE₂ on the growth, photosynthetic activity, and antioxidant system of C. pyrenoidosa and revealed related molecular changes using transcriptomic analysis. The cell density of algae was inhibited in the presence of 17α-EE₂, and cell morphology was also altered. Photosynthetics were damaged, while reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) content increased. Further transcriptomic analysis revealed that the pathways of photosynthesis and DNA replication were affected at three concentrations of 17α-EE₂, but several specific pathways exhibited various behaviors at different concentrations. Significant changes in differentially expressed genes and their enrichment pathways showed that the low-concentration group was predominantly impaired in photosynthesis, while the higher-concentration groups were biased towards oxidative and DNA damage. This study provides a better understanding of the cellular and molecular variations of microalgae under 17α-EE₂ exposure, contributing to the environmental risk assessment of such hazardous pollutants on aquatic organisms.

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) play a pivotal role in maintaining ecosystem stability and soil fertility in arid and semi-arid regions. However, the biogeographical differences in soil functional composition between cyanobacterial BSCs (C-BSCs) and moss BSCs (M-BSCs), particularly how environmental changes affect nutrient cycling strategies and microbial community functions, remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated BSCs across aridity gradients (semi-humid, semi-arid, and arid regions) in China, focusing on carbon and nitrogen cycling pathways, enzyme activities, and nutrient acquisition strategies. It was found that aridity and BSC type had significant effects on the functional characteristics of microorganisms. This was demonstrated by significant differences in various soil microbial activities including enzyme activities and carbon and nitrogen nutrient cycling. With increasing aridity, C-BSCs exhibited reduced carbon cycling activity but enhanced nitrogen cycling processes, whereas M-BSCs displayed diminished activity in both carbon and nitrogen cycling. These divergent strategies were linked to soil properties such as pH and organic carbon content, with C-BSCs adapting through nitrogen-related processes (e.g., nifH, amoA) and M-BSCs relying on C fixation and degradation. These findings provide novel insights into the functional gene diversity of BSCs across different regions, offering valuable references for ecological restoration in arid areas. Specifically, our study highlights the potential of BSC inoculation for carbon and nitrogen enrichment in arid regions, with implications for climate-resilient restoration practices.

Microbial colonization leads to the formation of biological soil crusts (BSCs) on the surface of architecture, which causes the deterioration of construction materials. However, little information is available on the formation of BSCs on lime concrete materials of early architecture. In this study, the variances of microbial communities, physicochemical properties, and surrounding environmental factors of the lime concrete facades from the early architecture of Wuhan University were investigated. It was found that the surface of lime concrete materials was internally porous and permeable, embedded with biofilms of cyanobacteria, mosses, bacteria, and fungi. Redundancy analysis (RDA) analysis showed that the abundances of photoautotrophic microorganisms depended on light intensity and moisture content of construction materials, while that of heterotrophic microorganisms depended on total nitrogen (TN) and NO₃⁻-N content. The deposition of total carbon (TC), NH₄⁺-N, and total organic carbon (TOC) was mainly generated by photoautotrophic microorganisms. The lime concrete surface of early architecture allowed internal growth of microorganisms and excretion of metabolites, which promoted the biodeterioration of lime concrete materials.

Microorganism–semiconductor biohybrids integrate biological metabolism with inorganic light-harvesting materials to enable solar-driven chemical transformations; however, how incident light wavelength regulates extracellular metabolic states remains largely unexplored. Unlike previous hybrid systems that have generally employed fixed-wavelength illumination and bacteria without plant-growth-promoting properties, we investigated wavelength-dependent reprogramming of extracellular metabolism in a CdS biohybrid based on the plant-growth-promoting bacterium Priestia sp. ZJT-3. Sucrose supported the highest bacterial growth, while L-cysteine alleviated Cd²⁺ stress through H₂S-mediated CdS biomineralization, with maximal Cd removal at a cysteine/Cd²⁺ molar ratio of 2:1. Morphological analyses confirmed the formation of surface-associated CdS nanoparticles with an average size of 6.41 nm and a cubic crystal structure. Wavelength-dependent illumination markedly altered the extracellular metabolome, with the number of upregulated metabolites relative to the dark control decreasing in the order of 400, 450, and 520 nm. This pattern suggests that wavelength-dependent CdS excitation modulates photochemical interactions at the biohybrid interface and is associated with distinct bacterial metabolic responses. The 450 nm treatment produced a comparatively moderate metabolic response and was associated with increased levels of plant growth-promoting hormones, whereas 400 nm induced the strongest metabolic remodeling but also greater CdS photocorrosion and cellular morphological perturbation. These findings demonstrate that illumination wavelength can serve as a tunable parameter for regulating extracellular metabolism in bacteria–semiconductor biohybrids, highlighting the potential of such biohybrids for practical applications in areas such as light-controlled metabolite production and bioengineering.