From deep ocean trenches to our human gut: microbes (bacteria, archaea, viruses, protists, and fungi) are ubiquitous and highly diverse, making up an estimated 99% of all biodiversity. Since they emerged three billion years ago, they have been fulfilling critical roles for planetary life – breaking down waste, recycling nutrients, purifying water, and more.
There is no past nor present without microbes. Could there be a future without them? Likely not. Yet, microbes are mostly overlooked in global initiatives and policies working towards a more sustainable future – most notably the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A new publication in Cell comprehensively synthesises research highlighting how indispensable microbes and microbe-based technologies are to achieving the SDGs.
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