Microorganisms and Climate Change: The Smallest Doing the Bigger
Abrar Hussain (
International Center for Chemical and
Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Pakistan
Microorganisms
Microorganisms are the oldest living creatures in our planet which arise some 3.5 billion years ago. These are the most diverse, abundant, and highly prevalent creature in different environments, being dominated in one place while less somewhere else. Approximately 159,000 different kinds of microorganism’s species are exist, which affect almost every aspect of our lives. Reshaping our personality, affect our mood and physiological functions, combating aging, promoting biotechnological applications, and being used as probiotics are the few diversified areas that are affected by microorganisms. Ranging in their presence in food sources to water, in household to the clinical, and from soil to air, these creatures also have a strong hold on the climate. Currently, microbes are used in plenty of applications that include nutrient recycling, the food industry, agriculture, carbon and nitrogen cycles, and other applications, as summarized in Figure 1. Besides the positive attributes of microorganisms, they are also the vectors of disease transmission and thus cause the deaths of humans, animals, and the environment. Due to their ubiquitous distribution, microorganisms are now considered a potential contributor to climate change.
Figure 1.
The important functions and applications of microorganisms
Climate change
The
term climate refers to the long-term weather pattern of a specific region,
while climate change describes the long-term changes or shifts in the weather
conditions of a particular area. The term climate change was coined by Wallace
Broecker (a geochemist)
in 1975 to emphasize the importance of global temperature. Soon after, this
concept was highlighted at different levels. climate change is an issue of
great concern as it affects all aspects of our lives. It reflects global
warming and thus becomes a one-point threat to human concerns. It adversely
affects our environments and thus the human health through causing change in
weather patterns, air pollutions, global warming, destroy the agriculture,
lowering food
productions, and increasing hunger and inadequate
nutrition. Due to its potential impacts on our lives, efforts on every scale
are being made to overcome the consequences of climate change. Numerous
international, national, organizational, and individual efforts are made to
develop strategies, guidelines, and rules that help to lower the effects of
climate change. Different approaches and methodologies are proposed that help
to understand the exact causative agent of climate change and the ways in which
it will work effectively.
Microorganisms and climate change
Highlighting
the potential role of microorganisms in our environments, like biodegradation,
cleaning, and markers of environmental pollution, these are also considered to
play an important role in climate change. Their role in climate change is well
recognized, as they reflect different aspects of the environment. But their
versatility, greater prevalence, and substantial interactions make it difficult
to explore their role in climate change and greenhouse gases. These are involved
in the production and utilization of greenhouse gases i.e., carbon dioxide,
methane, etc. and hence produce positive and negative effects on climate
change. On the other hand, the climate change negatively affects the
microorganisms by acidification,
warming, and a rough temperature, resulting a misbalance in their ecological
distribution.
The
effects of microbes on humans and animals are prominent, indicating their
importance in our lives. Similarly, the effect of climate change is not only
restricted to a few terms; it covers all the environmental changes that include
changes in temperature, pH, and soil topological properties, which in turn
affect the microbe’s prevalence and distribution. The warming
of the earth leads perishable food, more disease cases, and enhanced natural
disasters, which lower the microbe’s activities. Fortunately, the physiological
potential of microbes, like their growth properties, greater prevalence, and
ability to share genetic information, makes them fit for environmental
adaptations. These adaptations take place in several ways, like increasing
bacterial respiration, developing proteins that resist environmental
conditions, etc., and hence helping the microorganisms to survive during
climate change. Viruses also have the potential to show adaptation to the
environment being affected by climate change. These changes in microbial
biology can have a great impact on humans and other animals.
Microorganisms
are also used as a solution to climate change. It is documented
that microbial tools can provide a potential solution for climate change in the
environment. These can also provide an intricate line of innovation while
addressing climate change issues. Likewise, the soil microbiota brings changes
to the plants, like making them more resistant to harsh conditions and
increasing productivity, while also protecting plants from different climate
change effects. A type of bacteria called Methanotrophs has the potential to
reduce the emission of methane, a greenhouse gas, and thus lower the effects of
climate change. The different aspects of microorganisms and climate
change are illustrated in Figure 2.
Figure
2.
The different aspects of microorganism, climate change, their interactions and
solutions.
Humans'
activities produce the greenhouse gases (GHG)
in large quantities and thus cause change in the climate. Microorganisms can
consume these GHGs when they are required for their growth. Despite being
pathogenic microorganisms that cause several diseases, other microbes are
adversely affected by climate change and ultimately human activities. In the
case of pathogenic microbes, climate change can lower their prevalence and
hence decrease the burden of infectious diseases.
The
high temperature due to climate change can affect the long-term transport of
pathogens and change their prevalence. The scenario becomes more adverse in
terms of opportunistic pathogens. There are many ways in
which these microbes can fight climate change. These include the conversion of
carbon into organic matter, the nitrogen cycle (an important nutrient in plant
growth), supporting plant growth, recycling soil nutrients, and reducing soil
pollution by lowering the toxic chemicals in the soil. The development of smart
agriculture approaches also lowers the effects of climate change.
Conclusion
Microorganisms
are the smallest creatures that have existed since billions of years ago. These
have a potential effect on humans, animals, and environments. Greater
prevalence, versatile nature, dynamic physiological characteristics, rapid
growth, and both beneficial and pathogenic nature make microbes an important
agent of our biosphere, which cannot be neglected. Recently, climate change and
its associated phenomena, i.e., global warming and greenhouse gas production,
got special attention due to their substantial effects on humans. Besides
plenty of other players in climate change, microorganisms are also included.
Microbes have the smallest size but have a bigger effect as they directly
affect humans' lives. Both positive and negative effects are identified for
both climate change and microorganisms. On the one hand, the microorganisms
show adaptations to climate change and thus create resistance; on the other
hand, they help to overcome the negative impacts of climate change. In
conclusion, microorganisms play an important role in climate change, either by
producing resistance in plants or by developing adaptations.
Further reading
1- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-019-0222-5
2- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK580166/
3- https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/mbio.00800-22
5- https://doi.org/10.3390/microbiolres14030064
