Phosphorus is an essential element for life, and phosphorus cycling is crucial to planetary habitability. In aquatic environments, microorganisms are a major component of phosphorus cycling and rapidly transform the diverse chemical forms of phosphorus through various uptake, assimilation and release pathways. Recent discoveries have revealed a more dynamic and complex aquatic microbial phosphorus cycle than previously understood. Some microorganisms have been shown to use and produce new phosphorus compounds, including those in reduced forms. New findings have also raised numerous unanswered questions that warrant further investigation. There is an expanding influence of human activity on aquatic ecosystems. Advancements in understanding the phosphorus biogeochemistry of evolving aquatic environments offer a unique opportunity to comprehend, anticipate and mitigate the effect of human activities. In this Review, I discuss the wealth of new aquatic phosphorus cycle research, spanning disciplines from omics and physiology to global biogeochemical modelling, with a focus on the current comprehension of how aquatic microorganisms sense, transport, assimilate, store, produce and release phosphorus. Of note, I delve into cellular phosphorus allocation, an underexplored topic with wide-ranging implications for energy and element flux in aquatic ecosystems.

磷是生命的基本元素，磷的循环对地球的宜居性至关重要。在水生环境中，微生物是磷循环的主要组成部分，并通过各种吸收、同化和释放途径迅速转化磷的各种化学形式。最近的发现揭示了比以前理解的更动态、更复杂的水生微生物磷循环。一些微生物已被证明会使用和产生新的磷化合物，包括那些还原形式的磷化合物。新发现还提出了许多值得进一步调查的悬而未决的问题。人类活动对水生生态系统的影响越来越大。了解不断发展的水生环境的磷生物地球化学的进步为理解、预测和减轻人类活动的影响提供了独特的机会。在这篇评论中，我讨论了新的水生磷循环研究的财富，跨越了从组学和生理学到全球生物地球化学建模的学科，重点是当前对水生微生物如何感知、运输、同化、储存、产生和释放磷的理解。值得注意的是，我深入研究了细胞磷分配，这是一个未被充分探索的话题，对水生生态系统中的能量和元素通量具有广泛的影响。