Future of Microbiology: Innovations
and upcoming research fields
This is an exciting time
for microbiology. Microbes are the basis of the biosphere and are the ancestors
of all living things and the support system for all other forms of life. At the
same time it is true that certain microbes pose threat to human health and to
the health of plants and animals. Microbes
claim a primary, fundamental role in life on earth. Microbiology research is
changing rapidly. The field has been impacted by events that shape public
perceptions of microbes, such as the emergence of globally significant
diseases, threats of bioterrorism, increasing failure of formerly effective
antibiotics and therapies to treat microbial diseases, and events that
contaminate food on a large scale, technological advancements particularly in
genomics, etc. The future of microbiology is poised to be transformative
and the emerging research and technological advancements are opening new
avenues for addressing global challenges in health, agriculture, industry, and
environmental sustainability.
1. Microbiome Research
Human Microbiome - Our body are colonized by thousands of
microbial species that exist as commensals, largely on mucosal tissues of the
nose, mouth, GIT, and vagina. 1014
bacterial cells are found in the human body, 10-fold more cells than the 1013
mammalian cells comprising the human body itself. They are responsible for many important
properties that affect the metabolism of food and drugs, the renewal of gut
epithelial cells, immune system development and general behavioral
characteristics. Advances
in microbiome research are leading to the development of personalized medicine
approaches, where an individual’s microbiome profile is used to tailor
treatments for conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and
mental health disorders. Probiotics and
prebiotics are being designed to specifically modulate the gut microbiome to
enhance health outcomes. Future innovations may include microbiome-based
diagnostics and therapeutics. The
microbiome’s influence on the immune system is also a critical area of
research. Modulating the gut microbiome is being explored as a way to enhance
the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors and other cancer treatments.
Soil and Plant Microbiomes - By understanding the interactions between plants and
their microbial communities, microbial inoculants that promote plant growth,
enhance nutrient uptake and protect against pathogens are being developed. Microbiome engineering is being used to
restore soil health, increase crop yields, and reduce the need for chemical
fertilizers and pesticides.
Ocean Microbiome - Understanding the role of marine microbes in carbon
cycling, climate regulation and marine ecosystems will lead to the discovery of
novel marine microorganisms with potential applications in biotechnology,
medicine, and environmental remediation.
2. Microbiology and Public Health and Combating Antimicrobial
Resistance
Global Surveillance to
combat Emerging Infectious Diseases -Advances in microbiology are
enhancing global surveillance of emerging infectious diseases. Predictive
modeling using microbial data is being used to anticipate the emergence of new
pathogens and guide public health responses.
Vaccine Development -Innovations in microbiology are
driving the development of next-generation vaccines, including mRNA vaccines,
vector-based vaccines, and peptide vaccines. Efforts are being done for the development of microbiome-based
vaccines that can modulate the microbiome to enhance immune responses.
Combating Antimicrobial Resistance- Alternative
Antimicrobial Strategies such as the use of phage therapy, use of antimicrobial
peptides such as bacteriocins, development of CRISPR based antimicrobials, etc
are being investigated.
Phage Therapy – Bacteriophages that specifically target and kill bacteria
can be used as a potential alternative to antibiotics, especially against
multidrug-resistant bacterial infections.
Advances in phage engineering may lead to the development of phages with
enhanced specificity and efficacy, as well as phage cocktails that can target
multiple bacterial strains. Phage
cocktails are better compared with monophage therapy because bacteria are
unlikely to become resistant to multiple phages at once.
Antimicrobial Peptides- Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small proteins with
broad-spectrum activity against bacteria, fungi, and viruses. AMPs are being
explored for use in treating skin infections, sepsis, and to prevent biofilm
formation.
CRISPR-based Antimicrobials- CRISPR (clustered regularly
interspaced short palindromic repeats) is a genetic engineering technique that
allows researchers to modify the DNA of living organisms. CRISPR technology is being adapted to create
novel antimicrobials that can specifically target and eliminate
antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Since it has
the advantage of being specific and precise, any risk to off-target effects such
as beneficial microbiota could be minimised.
Use of Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery - Microbes are a rich source of
natural products with antimicrobial properties. Advances in genomics and metabolomics
are facilitating the discovery of new antibiotics from previously uncultivable
or rare microorganisms. The development of new culturing techniques, such as
iChip or isolation chip allows for the growth of previously unculturable
bacteria. The Isolation chip (or ichip)
is a method of culturing bacteria. Using regular methods, 99% of bacterial
species are not able to be cultured as they do not grow in conditions that
could be achieved in a laboratory (this problem is termed as the "Great
Plate Count Anomaly"). The ichip cultures bacterial species within its
soil environment. AI and machine learning are being integrated into the drug
discovery process to predict the antimicrobial activity of novel compounds and
for the identification of resistance mechanisms and thereby for the development
of new antibiotics.
3. Advances in Environmental Microbiology
Bioremediation - Microbial Degradation of Pollutants - Microorganisms are being
harnessed to degrade environmental pollutants, such as oil spills, plastic
waste, and toxic chemicals. Advances in microbial ecology and genetic
engineering are enhancing the efficiency and specificity of bioremediation
processes.
Bioelectrochemical Systems - Bioelectrochemical systems, such as microbial fuel cells,
utilize the metabolic activity of microorganisms to generate electricity while
simultaneously degrading organic pollutants. These systems are beneficial for
wastewater treatment and environmental monitoring.
Climate Change Mitigation - Microorganisms play a crucial role in carbon cycling and
greenhouse gas regulation. Research is focused on leveraging microbial
processes to mitigate climate change, such as enhancing microbial carbon
sequestration in soils or reducing methane emissions from agriculture or by
installing photobioreactors containing microalgae to mitigate global climate change, as they
contribute to carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration, conversion of greenhouse gases into biomass
production, enhancement of air quality, etc. Microbial Carbon Sequestration also could be improved towards climate
change mitigation efforts by promoting the growth of microbial communities that
stabilize organic carbon in soil.
Biofertilizers and Biopesticides- Microbial biofertilizers and
biopesticides help to enhance crop productivity, reduce the need for chemical
inputs, and promote soil health.
Microbial Dark Matter - Microbial
Dark Matter (MDM) denote the vast majority of microbes that are uncultured in
laboratories and are therefore unknown to scientists. Advances in metagenomics, single-cell genomics, and novel
culturing techniques are enabling the exploration of these microorganisms and
we expect that these techniques reveal new insights into microbial ecology and
potential applications in biotechnology and medicine. Extremophiles are the microorganisms that
thrive in extreme environments, are of particular interest for their potential
applications in biotechnology and research in astrobiology is exploring the
potential for microbial life in extreme environments on other planets, such as
Mars. Astro microbiology, or exo
microbiology, is the study of microorganisms in outer space. It incorporates
both microbiology and astrobiology.
4. Genetic Engineering and CRISPR-Cas Technology
CRISPR-Cas9 is a
genome editing technology that allows to alter an organism's DNA. CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced
Short Palindromic Repeats, and Cas stands for CRISPR-Associated Protein 9. This
was adapted from a natural defense system in bacteria that protects them from
viruses. CRISPR-Cas9 can Disrupt a targeted gene, insert a new sequence at a
desired location, Correct errors in the genome, Turn genes on or off, etc. CRISPR-Cas9 has many applications in Biomedical
research, Gene therapy, genetic engineering, etc.
This technology is
being used to create microorganisms with enhanced capabilities such as
production of pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, biofuels, etc and for
bioremediation, etc. Microbes engineered
with CRISPR technology are also being developed as biosensors to detect
environmental contaminants, pathogens, or toxins for monitoring water quality,
soil health, and disease outbreaks.
Metabolic Engineering for customizing
Metabolic Pathways-
Metabolic engineering involves the modification of microbial metabolic pathways
to optimize the production of desired compounds. Advances in omics technologies
(genomics, proteomics, metabolomics) are being used to enhance the yield of
biofuels, bioplastics, and pharmaceuticals.
References
Kumar
R, Sood U, Kaur J, Anand S, Gupta V, Patil KS, Lal R, The rising dominance of
microbiology: what to expect in the next 15 years?, Microbial Biotechnology,
2021, https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.13953
Microbiology in the 21st Century:
Where Are We and Where Are We Going? Report based on a colloquium sponsored by
the American Academy of Microbiology held September 5–7, 2003, in Charleston,
South Carolina, American Society for Microbiology; 2004.
