Gorillas, pandas, and sea turtles are among the most endangered animals on Earth. These are quite visible life forms, and it is easy to understand how the diversity of the natural world will suffer if such species become extinct.
With microorganisms, it's different. Most of us probably don't give a second thought to them when it comes to biodiversity and the risk of losing species forever. After all, they are not visible to the naked eye: We cannot see bacteria, viruses, bacteriophages, or the slightly larger phytoplankton such as microalgae. Zooplankton such as flagellates and ciliates are equally hard to catch a glimpse of. But the world is teeming with life at the microscopic level.
"Microorganisms are everywhere: in the water, in the soil, in our mouths, on our skin, in our gut, and they colonize all animals and plants, which all have their own unique collection of microbes, what we call their microbiome. These are life forms that are so diverse and have such a great genetic richness that they make humans and animals pale in comparison, because together we are an infinitesimal part of the natural world," says Professor Lone Gram, who in her capacity as a microbiologist has been exploring bacteria for decades.
Since 2018, she has headed the Center for Microbial Secondary Metabolites (CeMiSt) at DTU, a basic research centre focused on the understanding of bacteria and how the substances they produce affect their interaction with each other and with their surroundings.
