Microorganisms and climate change
190637591
Scientists' warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change
In the Anthropocene, in which we now live, climate change is impacting most life on Earth. Microorganisms support the existence of all higher trophic life forms. To understand how humans and other life forms on Earth (including those we are yet to discover) can withstand anthropogenic climate change, it is vital to incorporate knowledge of the microbial 'unseen majority' We must learn not just how microorganisms affect climate change (including production and consumption of greenhouse gases) but also how they will be affected by climate change and other human activities. This Consensus Statement documents the central role and global importance of microorganisms in climate change biology. It also puts humanity on notice that the impact of climate change will depend heavily on responses of microorganisms, which are essential for achieving an environmentally sustainable future.The microbial majority with which we share Earth often goes unnoticed despite underlying major biogeochemical cycles and food webs, thereby taking a key role in climate change. This Consensus Statement highlights the importance of climate change microbiology and issues a call to action for all microbiologists.
Nature Reviews Microbiology
Ricardo Cavicchioli William J Ripple Kenneth N Timmis Farooq Azam Lars R Bakken Matthew Baylis Michael J Behrenfeld Antje Boetius Philip W Boyd Aimee T Classen Thomas W Crowther Roberto Danovaro Christine M Foreman Jef Huisman David A Hutchins Janet K Jansson David M Karl Britt Koskella David B Mark Welch Jennifer B H Martiny Mary Ann Moran Victoria J Orphan David S Reay Justin V Remais Virginia I Rich Brajesh Kumar Singh Lisa Y Stein Frank J Stewart Matthew B Sullivan Madeleine J H van Oppen Scott C Weaver Eric A Webb Nicole S Webster
1522347
Microorganisms and climate change: terrestrial feedbacks and mitigation options
Microbial processes have a central role in the global fluxes of the key biogenic greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) and are likely to respond rapidly to climate change. Whether changes in microbial processes lead to a net positive or negative feedback for greenhouse gas emissions is unclear. To improve the prediction of climate models, it is important to understand the mechanisms by which microorganisms regulate terrestrial greenhouse gas flux. This involves consideration of the complex interactions that occur between microorganisms and other biotic and abiotic factors. The potential to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through managing terrestrial microbial processes is a tantalizing prospect for the future.
Nature Reviews Microbiology
Brajesh Kumar Singh Richard D Bardgett Pete Smith David S Reay
201353309
Faculty Opinions recommendation of Scientists' warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change.
Faculty Opinions Post Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature
Frank T Robb
23665218
Polar Marine Microorganisms and Climate Change.
The large diversity of marine microorganisms harboured by oceans plays an important role in planet sustainability by driving globally important biogeochemical cycles; all primary and most secondary production in the oceans is performed by microorganisms. The largest part of the planet is covered by cold environments; consequently, cold adapted microorganisms have crucial functional roles in globally important environmental processes and biogeochemical cycles cold adapted extremophiles are a remarkable model to shed light on the molecular basis of survival at low temperature. The indigenous populations of Antarctic and Arctic microorganisms are endowed with genetic and physiological traits that allow them to live and effectively compete at the temperatures prevailing in polar regions. Some genes, e.g. glycosyltransferases and glycosylsynthetases involved in the architecture of the cell wall, may have been acquired/retained during evolution of polar strains or lost in tropical strains. This present work focusses on temperature and its role in shaping microbial adaptations; however, in assessing the impacts of climate changes on microbial diversity and biogeochemical cycles in polar oceans, it should not be forgotten that physiological studies need to include the interaction of temperature with other abiotic and biotic factors.
Advances in microbial physiology
Cinzia Verde Daniela Giordano Christopher M Bellas Guido di Prisco Alexandre M Anesio
203658781
Soil microbiomes and climate change
The soil microbiome governs biogeochemical cycling of macronutrients, micronutrients and other elements vital for the growth of plants and animal life. Understanding and predicting the impact of climate change on soil microbiomes and the ecosystem services they provide present a grand challenge and major opportunity as we direct our research efforts towards one of the most pressing problems facing our planet. In this Review, we explore the current state of knowledge about the impacts of climate change on soil microorganisms in different climate sensitive soil ecosystems, as well as potential ways that soil microorganisms can be harnessed to help mitigate the negative consequences of climate change. In this Review, Jansson and Hofmockel explore the impacts of climate change on soil microorganisms in different climate sensitive soil ecosystems and the potential ways that soil microorganisms can be harnessed to help mitigate the negative consequences of climate change.
Nature Reviews Microbiology
Janet K Jansson Kirsten S Hofmockel
86040991
Antarctic Marine Microorganisms and Climate Change
Global climate change will alter many such properties of the Southern Ocean as temperature, circulation, stratification, and sea ice extent. Such changes are likely to influence the species composition and activity of Antarctic marine microorganisms (protists and bacteria) which playa major role in deter mining the concentration of atmospheric and producing precursors of cloud condensation nuclei. Direct impacts of climate change on Antarctic marine microorganisms have been determined for very few species. Increasing water temperature would be expected to result in a southward spread of pelagic cyanobacteria, coccolithophorids and others. Growth rates of many species would be expected to increase slightly but nutrient limitation, especially micronutrients, is likely to result in a negligible increase in biomass. The extent of habitats would be reduced for those organisms presently living close to the upper limit of their thermal tolerance. Increased UVB irradiance is likely to favour the growth of those organisms tolerant of UVB and may change the trophic structure of marine communities. Indirect effects, especially those as a consequence of a diminution of the amount of sea ice and increased upper ocean stratification, are predicted to lead to a change in species composition and impacts on both trophodynamics and vertical carbon flux.
Harvey John Marchant Andrew T Davidson Simon W Wright
52306115
Cascading effects from plants to soil microorganisms explain how plant species richness and simulated climate change affect soil multifunctionality
Despite their importance, how plant communities and soil microorganisms interact to determine the capacity of ecosystems to provide multiple functions simultaneously (multifunctionality) under climate change is poorly known. We conducted a common garden experiment using grassland species to evaluate how plant functional structure and soil microbial (bacteria and protists) diversity and abundance regulate soil multifunctionality responses to joint changes in plant species richness (one, three and six species) and simulated climate change (3degC warming and 35% rainfall reduction) The effects of species richness and climate on soil multifunctionality were indirectly driven via changes in plant functional structure and their relationships with the abundance and diversity of soil bacteria and protists. More specifically, warming selected for the larger and most productive plant species, increasing the average size within communities and leading to reductions in functional plant diversity. These changes increased the total abundance of bacteria that, in turn, increased that of protists, ultimately promoting soil multifunctionality. Our work suggests that cascading effects between plant functional traits and the abundance of multitrophic soil organisms largely regulate the response of soil multifunctionality to simulated climate change, and ultimately provides novel experimental insights into the mechanisms underlying the effects of biodiversity and climate change on ecosystem functioning.
Global change biology
Enrique Valencia Nicolas Gross Jose Luis Quero Carlos Perez Carmona Victoria Ochoa Beatriz Gozalo Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo Kenneth Dumack Kelly Hamonts Brajesh Kumar Singh Michael Bonkowski Fernando T Maestre
24944704
Effects of climate change on leaf breakdown by microorganisms and the shredder Phylloicus elektoros (Trichoptera: Calamoceratidae)
Climate change may affect species diversity and, consequently, ecological processes such as leaf decomposition. We evaluated the effects of increased temperature and carbon dioxide (CO2) on fungal biomass, leaf breakdown, and on survival and growth of the shredder Phylloicus elektoros. We hypothesized that climatic changes would result in lower survival and growth of shredders and lower leaf consumption by these organisms. On the other hand, we predicted an increase in fungal biomass in response to climatic changes. We conducted an experiment in Manaus, Brazil, using four microcosms that simulate real time air temperature and CO2 (control chamber) as well as three other chambers subjected to fixed increases in temperature and CO2 as compared to the control chamber. The "extreme" condition represented an increase of ~4.5degC in temperature and ~870 ppm in CO2 in relation to the control chamber. Total and shredder leaf breakdown rates, fungal biomass, and shredder survival rates were significantly lower in warmer and CO2 concentrated atmospheres. Shredder growth rate and leaf breakdown by microorganisms were similar among all climatic conditions. With climatic changes, we found an increase in the relative importance of microorganisms on leaf breakdown rates as compared to shredders. Thus, lower leaf breakdown and a change in the main decomposer due to future climatic conditions may result in major changes in the pathways of organic matter processing and, consequently, in aquatic food webs.
Hydrobiologia
Renato Tavares Martins Adriano Sanches Melo Jose F Goncalves C M Campos Neusa Hamada
56146871
Biodiversity and Climate Change
Biodiversity is the presence of different varieties of a particular form of life. Some people have divided biodiversity into three levels namely variety of different species like plants, animals and microorganisms; genetic diversity indicating variety of genes in different prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms; and diversity of ecosystem which means different habitats like different places, tropical and temperate forests, different aqua systems, different mountains, differently weathers deserts, wetlands and so on. Nowadays, there is much concern about decrease in biodiversity and its correlation with the climate change. Many species have become endangered.
Amrender Kumar
33676560
Environmental parameters altered by climate change affect the activity of soil microorganisms involved in bioremediation.
Bioremediation, based on the use of microorganisms to break down pollutants, can be very effective at reducing soil pollution. But the climate change we are now experiencing is bound to have an impact on bioremediation performance, since the activity and degrading abilities of soil microorganisms are dependent on a series of environmental parameters that are themselves being altered by climate change, such as soil temperature, moisture, amount of root exudates, etc. Many climate induced effects on soil microorganisms occur indirectly through changes in plant growth and physiology derived from increased atmospheric CO2 concentrations and temperatures, the alteration of precipitation patterns, etc. with a concomitant effect on rhizoremediation performance (i.e. the plant assisted microbial degradation of pollutants in the rhizosphere) But these effects are extremely complex and mediated by processes such as acclimation and adaptation. Besides, soil microorganisms form complex networks of interactions with a myriad of organisms from many taxonomic groups that will also be affected by climate change, further complicating data interpretation.
FEMS microbiology letters
Itziar Alkorta Lur Epelde Carlos Garbisu