Environmental microbiome engineering for the mitigation of climate change

Area of Science:

• Environmental science
• Microbiology
• Climate change mitigation

Background:

• Environmental microbiome engineering is a novel approach for climate change mitigation.
• It involves introducing microbial inocula to natural communities to enhance carbon sequestration.
• This review synthesizes current knowledge and future directions in the field.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline the process of environmental microbiome engineering.
• To identify key considerations for designing and deploying microbial inocula.
• To explore factors influencing inocula establishment and ecosystem function modification.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature and research on environmental microbiome engineering.
• Synthesis of information on ecosystem targets, microbial sourcing, inoculum design, and delivery.
• Analysis of high-throughput technologies and modeling approaches.

Main Results:

• Top-down designed microbial inocula, particularly through directed evolution, demonstrate higher establishment potential.
• Key factors for successful inocula establishment and ecosystem function modification are identified.
• Outstanding questions regarding determinants of inocula establishment are highlighted.

Conclusions:

• Environmental microbiome engineering holds promise for climate change mitigation.
• Further research is needed to address challenges and optimize strategies for inocula design and deployment.
• Directed evolution presents a promising avenue for developing effective microbial inocula.