Resolving mechanisms of microbiome rescue to promote resilience to climate change

Introduction

Earth’s climate crisis threatens to disrupt ecosystem services and destabilize food security. Communities of microorganisms, called microbiomes, provide critical functions that feedback on climate and support soil and plant health.

Proposed Framework

I propose a new framework, Microbiome Rescue, to recover microbial populations and lost functions after disturbances. With critical knowledge about the ecology of microbiomes and their contributions to creating resilient systems, I propose that we can achieve a paradigm shift in ecosystem management via directed microbiome interventions.

Focus of the Proposal

Here, I focus on elaborating rescue strategies that leverage the selective reactivation of dormant microbes. Because microbial dormancy is extensive in soil and the rhizosphere, reactivation offers access to untapped biodiversity and provides immediate solutions for maintaining functions in ecosystems affected by climate change.

Objectives

1. Understanding Dormant Microorganisms
   My first objective is to understand and predict the capacity of dormant soil microorganisms to rescue microbiomes in a changing climate and discover reactivated bacteria that facilitate resilience.

2. Developing Bacterial Reactivation
   My second objective is to investigate and develop bacterial reactivation for rescue-based microbiome management to support plant resilience to climate change stressors and preserve plant-soil feedback.

Methodology

To achieve these goals, I will execute three multi-factor experiments to reactivate the dormant microbiome from soil and plant systems after exposure to heat and moisture stress.

1. Heat and Moisture Experiment
   First, I will perform a heat and moisture experiment for European soils, assess risk, and curate microbial collections that support functional rescue.

2. Practical Rescue Experiments
   Next, I will perform two practical rescue experiments for the microbiomes of legumes exposed to heat and moisture stress:

   • Customized microbiological amendments
   • Host-microbiome engineering

Expected Outcomes

This work will provide unprecedented insights into microbiome rescue and identify targets for biological interventions to support soil and crop resilience to climate change.