Microbiomes and ecology

Microbial life is also extraordinarily biodiverse. Discoveries over the past decade due to advances in DNA sequencing have found that nearly all of the genetic diversity on Earth is microbial.  Microbes are important from the perspective of biogeochemical cycles, and also via their interactions with larger organisms. We often become aware of microbes due to their role as pathogens of crops, humans, and other important host organisms. In addition, there are a huge number of 'commensal' (harmless) and beneficial microbes that that have a pervasive influence on all living creatures. Research at Silwood is trying to characterise this biodiversity and is trying to understand what it is doing: how they interact with a range of organisms from corals to plants, and how changes to microbial communities may alter whole ecosystems.