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Climate change microbiology — problems and perspectives

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Abstract

The signs of climate change are undeniable, and the inevitable impact for Earth and all its inhabitants is a serious concern. Ice is melting, sea levels are rising, biodiversity is declining, precipitation has increased, atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases are alarmingly high, and extreme weather conditions are becoming increasingly common. But what role do microorganisms have in this global challenge? In this Viewpoint article, several experts in the field discuss the microbial contributions to climate change and consider the effects of global warming, extreme weather, flooding and other consequences of climate change on microbial communities in the ocean and soil, on host–microbiota interactions and on the global burden of infectious diseases and ecosystem processes, and they explore open questions and research needs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    David A. Hutchins

  2. Biological Sciences Division, Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA

    Janet K. Jansson

  3. Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Justin V. Remais

  4. The Ohio State University, Department of Microbiology, 105 Biological Sciences Building, Columbus, OH, USA

    Virginia I. Rich

  5. Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia

    Brajesh K. Singh

  6. Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management, College of Agriculture, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Pankaj Trivedi

Authors
  1. David A. Hutchins
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  2. Janet K. Jansson
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  3. Justin V. Remais
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  4. Virginia I. Rich
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  5. Brajesh K. Singh
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  6. Pankaj Trivedi
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to David A. Hutchins, Janet K. Jansson, Justin V. Remais, Virginia I. Rich, Brajesh K. Singh or Pankaj Trivedi.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Hutchins, D.A., Jansson, J.K., Remais, J.V. et al. Climate change microbiology — problems and perspectives. Nat Rev Microbiol 17, 391–396 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-019-0178-5

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