The darkest microbiome-a post-human biosphere.

Kenneth Timmis,John E. Hallsworth

doi:10.1111/1751-7915.13976

Kenneth Timmis, John E. Hallsworth

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.13976

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Abstract

SummaryMicrobial technology is exceptional among human activities and endeavours in its range of applications that benefit humanity, even exceeding those of chemistry. What is more, microbial technologists are among the most creative scientists, and the scope of the field continuously expands as new ideas and applications emerge. Notwithstanding this diversity of applications, given the dire predictions for the fate of the surface biosphere as a result of current trajectories of global warming, the future of microbial biotechnology research must have a single purpose, namely to help secure the future of life on Earth. Everything else will, by comparison, be irrelevant. Crucially, microbes themselves play pivotal roles in climate (Cavicchioli et al., Nature Revs Microbiol 17: 569–586, 2019). To enable realization of their full potential in humanity’s effort to survive, development of new and transformative global warming‐relevant technologies must become the lynchpin of microbial biotechnology research and development. As a consequence, microbial biotechnologists must consider constraining their usual degree of freedom, and re‐orienting their focus towards planetary‐biosphere exigences. And they must actively seek alliances and synergies with others to get the job done as fast as humanly possible; they need to enthusiastically embrace and join the global effort, subordinating where necessary individual aspirations to the common good (the amazing speed with which new COVID‐19 diagnostics and vaccines were developed and implemented demonstrates what is possible given creativity, singleness of purpose and funding). In terms of priorities, some will be obvious, others less so, with some only becoming revealed after dedicated effort yields new insights/opens new vistas. We therefore refrain from developing a priority list here. Rather, we consider what is likely to happen to the Earth’s biosphere if we (and the rest of humanity) fail to rescue it. We do so with the aim of galvanizing the formulation and implementation of strategic and financial science policy decisions that will maximally stimulate the development of relevant new microbial technologies, and maximally exploit available technologies, to repair existing environmental damage and mitigate against future deterioration.

Highlights

Despite the fact that it was once thought that humans might orchestrate only their own extinction (Dixon, 1981), global warming eventually made life impossible for all phogs and fhogs, and many of ourmicrobial relatives that lived on the surface of the planet
The 15 years of microbial biotechnology must largely be devoted to the discovery and development of new microbial technologies that contribute significantly towards sustainability
K. T. expresses his gratitude to Ricardo Amils and Victor Parro for generously involving him in their exciting Iberian Pyritic Belt Subsurface Life adventure and revealing the fascinating life of Luca and Granny and their microbial relatives and friends, very slowly and peacefully playing out in crevices of solid rock in the deep subsurface

Summary

Introduction

Our surface-dwelling microbial cousins evolved very rapidly, both because of their lives on hog scaffolds and their new food-rich environment, which allowed them to multiply at fantastic speeds. Like our surface biosphere cousins, which developed nanowires, cable growth and interconnected redox systems that allowed the transfer of electrons/electrical energy over long distances (Teske, 2019; Lovley and Holmes, 2020), creating a sort of microbial power grid, fhogs evolved electrical transfer systems, consisting of neurons and nervous systems that could control and coordinate activities for optimal functioning of the whole hog.

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Conclusion