Toward planetary microbial systems biology

Microorganisms underpin Earth's biosphere, sustaining life, shaping biogeochemical cycles, and maintaining ecosystem stability. In an era of scientific and geopolitical fragmentation, we advocate for a "planetary microbial systems biology" (PMSB) framework to uncover the mechanisms and organizational principles governing Earth's interconnected microbial systems across scales of matter, space, and time and in relation to underlying natural and anthropogenic drivers. PMSB combines molecular and cellular technologies, multi-omics data, artificial intelligence (AI), and integrated transdisciplinary research across ecosystems. By federating open data and combining field observations, experimentation, and modeling, PMSB enables predictive understanding of microbiome dynamics across planetary scales, thus filling a critical knowledge gap in our understanding of the co-evolution of life and the Earth-system.