Editorial: Microbial Source Tracking (MST) tools to identify the origins of fecal pollution in environmental water resources and the impact of microbial contaminants on human health

Introduction 14Fecal contamination of water bodies poses significant risks to both human health and ecological 15 systems, as it introduces organic matter, nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, and potentially 16 pathogenic microorganisms. Such contamination can compromise water quality, leading to 17 environmental degradation, waterborne microbial infections and economic losses, particularly in 18 sensitive settings such as drinking water supplies, recreational waters, and shellfish harvesting areas. 19The frequent detection of enteropathogens across diverse aquatic ecosystems underscores the 20 importance of rapidly and reliably identifying the sources of fecal pollution to support effective water 21 quality management, remediation efforts, and public health risk assessments.