Mainstreaming microbes across biomes

Bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms in the environment (i.e. “environmental microbiomes”) provide vital ecosystem services and impact on human health. Despite their importance, public awareness of environmental microbiomes has lagged behind that of human microbiomes. A key problem has been a scarcity of research demonstrating the microbial connections across environmental biomes (e.g. marine, soil) and between environmental and human microbiomes. We show here through analyses of almost 10,000 microbiome papers and three global datasets, that there are significant taxonomic similarities in microbial communities across biomes, yet very little cross-biome research. This disconnect may be hindering advances in microbiome knowledge and translation. In this review, we highlight current and potential applications of environmental microbiome research, and the benefits of an interdisciplinary, cross-biome approach. Microbiome scientists need to engage with each other, government, industry and the public to ensure research and applications proceed ethically, maximizing the potential benefits to society.