Microbial ecology

History

While microbes have been studied since the seventeenth-century, this research was from a primarily physiological perspective rather than an ecological one. Martinus Beijerinck invented the enrichment culture, a fundamental method of studying microbes from the environment. He is often incorrectly credited with framing the microbial biogeographic idea that "everything is everywhere, but, the environment selects", which was stated by Lourens Baas Becking. Sergei Winogradsky was one of the first researchers to attempt to understand microorganisms outside of the medical context—making him among the first students of microbial ecology and environmental microbiology—discovering chemosynthesis, and developing the Winogradsky column in the process.

Beijerinck and Windogradsky, however, were focused on the physiology of microorganisms, not the microbial habitat or their ecological interactions. Modern microbial ecology was launched by Robert Hungate and coworkers, who investigated the rumen ecosystem. The study of the rumen required Hungate to develop techniques for culturing anaerobic microbes, and he also pioneered a quantitative approach to the study of microbes and their ecological activities that differentiated the relative contributions of species and catabolic pathways.

Symbiosis

Microbes, especially bacteria, often engage in symbiotic relationships (either positive or negative) with other organisms, and these relationships affect the ecosystem. One example of these fundamental symbioses are chloroplasts, which allow eukaryotes to conduct photosynthesis. Chloroplasts are considered to be endosymbiotic cyanobacteria, a group of bacteria that are thought to be the origins of aerobic photosynthesis. Some theories state that this invention coincides with a major shift in the early earth's atmosphere, from a reducing atmosphere to an oxygen-rich atmosphere. Some theories go as far as saying that this shift in the balance of gases might have triggered a global ice-age known as the Snowball Earth.

Roles

Microorganisms are the backbone of all ecosystems, but even more so in the zones where photosynthesis is unable to take place because of the absence of light. In such zones, chemosynthetic microbes provide energy and carbon to the other organisms.

Other microbes are decomposers, with the ability to recycle nutrients from other organisms' waste products. These microbes play a vital role in biogeochemical cycles. The nitrogen cycle, the phosphorus cycle, the sulphur cycle and the carbon cycle all depend on microorganisms in one way or another. For example, the nitrogen gas which makes up 78% of the earth's atmosphere is unavailable to most organisms, until it is converted to a biologically available form by the microbial process of nitrogen fixation.

Due to the high level of horizontal gene transfer among microbial communities, microbial ecology is also of importance to studies of evolution.

Microbial resource management

Biotechnology may be used alongside microbial ecology to address a number of environmental and economic challenges. For example, molecular techniques such as community fingerprinting can be used to track changes in microbial communities over time or assess their biodiversity. Managing the carbon cycle to sequester carbon dioxide and prevent excess methanogenesis is important in mitigating global warming, and the prospects of bioenergy are being expanded by the development of microbial fuel cells. Microbial resource management advocates a more progressive attitude towards disease, whereby biological control agents are favoured over attempts at eradication. Fluxes in microbial communities has to be better characterized for this field's potential to be realised. In addition, there are also clinical implications, as marine microbial symbioses are a valuable source of existing and novel antimicrobial agents, and thus offer another line of inquiry in the evolutionary arms race of antibiotic resistance, a pressing concern for researchers.

In built environment and human interaction

Microbes exist in all areas, including homes, offices, commercial centers, and hospitals. In 2016, the journal Microbiome published a collection of various works studying the microbial ecology of the built environment.

A 2006 study of pathogenic bacteria in hospitals found that their ability to survive varied by the type, with some surviving for only a few days while others survived for months.

The lifespan of microbes in the home varies similarly. Generally bacteria and viruses require a wet environment with a humidity of over 10 percent. E. coli can survive for a few hours to a day. Bacteria which form spores can survive longer, with Staphylococcus aureus surviving potentially for weeks or, in the case of Bacillus anthracis, years.

In the home, pets can be carriers of bacteria; for example, reptiles in particular are commonly carriers of salmonella.

S. aureus is particularly common, and asymptomatically colonizes about 30% of the human population; attempts to decolonize carriers have met with limited success and generally involve mupirocin nasally and chlorhexidine washing, potentially along with vancomycin and cotrimoxazole to address intestinal and urinary tract infections.

Antimicrobials

Some metals, particularly copper and silver, are relatively microbial. Using antimicrobial copper-alloy touch surfaces is a technique which has begun to be used in the 21st century to prevent transmission of bacteria. Silver, particularly in nanoparticle form, has also began to be incorporated into building surfaces and fabrics, although concerns have been raised about the potential unhealthy side-effects of the tiny particles on the body.