Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Microbial solutions must be deployed against climate catastrophe

This paper is a call to action. By publishing concurrently across journals like an emergency bulletin, we are not merely making a plea for awareness about climate change. Instead, we are demanding immediate, tangible steps that harness the power of microbiology and the expertise of researchers and policymakers to safeguard the planet for future generations.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Corals and climate change.

References

  1. Tiedje, J. M. et al. Microbes and climate change: a research prospectus for the future. mBio 13, e0080022 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Cavicchioli, R. et al. Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 17, 569–586 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Jiao, N. et al. The microbial carbon pump and climate change. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 22, 408–419 (2024).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Peixoto, R. S. & Voolstra, C. R. The baseline is already shifted: marine microbiome restoration and rehabilitation as essential tools to mitigate ecosystem decline. Front. Mar. Sci. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1218531 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Knowlton, N. et al. Rebuilding Coral Reefs: A Decadal Grand Challenge (International Coral Reef Society and Future Earth Coasts, 2021).

  6. IPCC Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report (eds Core Writing Team, Lee, H. & Romero, J.) (IPCC, 2023).

  7. Peixoto, R. S. et al. Harnessing the microbiome to prevent global biodiversity loss. Nat. Microbiol. 7, 1726–1735 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Kokudo, N. & Sugiyama, H. Call for international cooperation and collaboration to effectively tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Glob. Health Med. 2, 60–62 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. El-Jardali, F., Fadlallah, R. & Daher, N. Multi-sectoral collaborations in selected countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region: assessment, enablers and missed opportunities from the COVID-19 pandemic response. Health Res. Policy Syst. 22, 14 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Xue, J., Yu, Y., Bai, Y., Wang, L. & Wu, Y. Marine oil-degrading microorganisms and biodegradation process of petroleum hydrocarbon in marine environments: a review. Curr. Microbiol. 71, 220–228 (2015).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Morgan Bennett-Smith for support with the figure. This article has been co-published with permission in Sustainable Microbiology (https://doi.org/10.1093/sumbio/qvae029), The ISME Journal (https://doi.org/10.1093/ismejo/wrae219), mSystems (https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.01416-24), FEMS Microbiology Ecology (https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiae144), Nature Microbiology (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-024-01861-0), Nature Reviews Microbiology (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-024-01123-0), Nature Reviews Earth and Environment (https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-024-00611-4), Nature Communications (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53680-w), Communications Biology (https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-07108-2), Communications Earth and Environment (https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01817-6), npj Biodiversity (https://doi.org/10.1038/s44185-024-00066-2), npj Biofilms and Microbiomes (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-024-00591-9), npj Climate Action (https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-024-00179-1) and npj Sustainable Agriculture (https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-024-00033-1). All rights reserved. © The Authors, 2024. The articles are identical except for minor stylistic and spelling differences in keeping with each journal’s style. Any citation can be used when citing this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Raquel Peixoto or Jack A. Gilbert.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

J.A.G. is a Scientific Advisory Board Member for Oath Inc. The other authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Peixoto, R., Voolstra, C.R., Stein, L.Y. et al. Microbial solutions must be deployed against climate catastrophe. Nat Rev Microbiol 23, 1–2 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-024-01123-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-024-01123-0

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing