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The United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including “good health and well-being”, “gender equality” and “affordable and clean energy”, build on the success of the Millennium Development Goals to cement hundreds of years of incremental human progress with the support of a strong international community. The global goals are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. Many of the steps that will be taken on the long road towards achieving the SDGs will involve outputs from microbiological research. The major policy decisions needed to set us on this journey require knowledge of relevant microbial activities and how these can be channelled for the greater benefit. 

Exploitation of material resources and increased pressure on natural ecosystems have raised concerns over potential future resource risk and supply failures worldwide. In recent years, interest in a circular model that looks beyond the current linear ‘take-make-dispose’ industrial model has surged among scientists, policy makers and business actors. The circular economy is based on the principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems.  

AMR is a slow-moving pandemic, which already causes at least 70,000 deaths a year globally. Unchecked, the impact of AMR will continue to grow and has the potential to become the greatest future threat to human health and well-being. 

Soils are critically important to the functioning and sustainability of the planet. They provide a range of essential functions, including producing the vast majority of our food, filtering our water and regulating climate. Most of these functions are underpinned by micro-organisms, making the knowledge of how they work of vital importance. In spite of this, soils are being degraded at an alarming rate. Twenty-four billion tons of fertile soil are annually lost from agricultural systems worldwide and it is estimated that 60-70% of EU soils are unhealthy.

The quality of soil and its suitability for growing crops has been important since humans  developed agriculture. Back in 1888, Rhizobium spp. were found living in the roots of leguminous plants; first suggesting the importance of soil microbes. It is now known that soil microbiomes are diverse communities with complex interactions, made up of a vast array of bacteria, fungi, archaea, protists and viruses, which are crucial for carbon and nutrient cycling, plant health and even soil structure.

In 2015 the United Nations (UN) adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of  targets for the world to achieve by 2030. AMR is a very real threat to achieving the UN SDGs,  particularly those associated with poverty, food production, the environment and sustainable economic growth. AMR is a naturally occurring process, whereby micro-organisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites) can change and adapt over time, either by modifying the target of the antimicrobial, or by developing and exchanging resistance genes.

In an increasingly expanding global economy, within a resource-constrained environment; concerns over the exploitation and possible future scarcity of natural resources are rapidly rising. In recent years, interest in a circular model that looks beyond the current linear ‘takemake-waste’ industrial model, has surged among scientists, policy makers and business actors. The circular economy is based on the principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems.

The theme of this special anniversary edition of Microbiology Today is ‘Why Microbiology Matters’, and it includes seven sections containing articles that provide examples of the many ways microbiology is important to our lives and the world around us.