Checklist of Novel Microbes Discovered in the Philippines

Abstract

The Philippines is a hotspot of biodiversity due to its high species richness and endemism and the great threat of species and habitat loss brought about by anthropogenic activities. While efforts have been made to document animal and plant biodiversity in the country, only a little can be said of the so-called hidden biodiversity – the microbial world. To contribute to the documentation of the total biodiversity in the country, we conducted a systematic literature review of novel microorganisms described in the Philippines. Novel microorganisms are potentially new sources of compounds for pharmaceutical, environmental, and biotechnological applications and could play key roles in many ecosystem processes; their continued discovery and further research allow the science community to study these microorganisms to impact local communities. Our checklist reported species of archaea, bacteria, protists, algae, and fungi, including lichens, that were discovered as new to science by Filipino or foreign-based scientists from specimens collected in the country. We recorded 708 novel species as reported in published literature until October 2023. These are grouped as Archaea (n = 12), Bacteria (n = 28), lower fungi (n = 11), higher fungi (n = 142), protists (n = 13), algae (n = 251), and lichens (n = 251). Most of the discovered novel microbes were isolated or collected from major islands of the country, particularly Luzon, and this highlights the numerous areas where studies on microbial diversity are limited or nonexistent. In addition, the research also identified challenges that impeded the progress of Philippine microbial taxonomy and offered solutions. This checklist is the first attempt to document novel species of microorganisms as a strategy to raise awareness of the need to document our microbial biodiversity.