The Missing Connection: Microbial community interactions in a changing world

Microbial interactions are increasingly implicated in the regulation of biogeochemical processes. Still, we currently lack the tools to truly assess these interactions in complex environmental systems like soil let alone predict how these interactions will change due to global warming. Moving beyond network analyses to directly investigate and quantify microbial interactions is necessary to predict the response-effect feedback loop between the microbes and the environment. This talk will highlight some of the foundational research and tool development necessary to predict microbial response to climate change and effect on ecosystem processes due to changing biotic interactions.