micro-organisms have been dictating global climate for billions of years.

Microbes play an
important role as both users and producers of greenhouse gases. Both natural and
human-induced fluxes of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are dominated by
microbiology.

Microbes are involved in many processes, including the carbon and nitrogen cycles, and are
responsible for both using and producing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and
methane. Microbes can have positive and negative responses to temperature, making them an
important component of climate change models.

They play an important role as both users and producers of greenhouse gases. Both natural
and human-induced fluxes of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are dominated by
microbiology.

Environmental microbiology covers microbes in water and soil, air.

Air can be considered one of the least hospitable environments for microbes because it holds
fewer nutrients and thus supports relatively fewer organisms.

Microbes that are suspended in air are also called bioaerosols. Pathogenic bioaerosols are
dependent upon prevailing physicochemical properties of the atmosphere, such as temperature,
humidity, solar radiation, wind, precipitation and air pressure, for transport and survival. High
temperature, for example, is generally unfavorable to the survival of bacteria and viruses in air,
but with a more marked effect on the latter.

Climate change has caused increased global atmospheric circulation, thus potentially moving
bioaerosols from one geographic location to another. In turn, microorganisms suspended in air
can act as nuclei for precipitation and can ultimately affect the climate. Also disturbing is the
possibility of emerging and reemerging diseases occurring as a result of erratic climatic
conditions adversely affecting microorganisms’ metabolic activities.

The troposphere, or innermost layer of Earth’s atmosphere, is the most favorable for growth and
survival of microorganisms. One reason is because it contains more water vapour than the other
layers, thus preventing desiccation of the cells and also allowing a certain level of biological
activity to be retained. Unlike soil microbes, which can be regarded as native to their
environment, microbes found in the air only get there by being introduced from another source.
Indeed, certain human activities, such as waste disposal, waste treatment, agriculture and
industry, have the potential to release microbes into the air. Soil is a major source of bioaerosols
as one gram of soil can hold millions (or even more!) bacterial and fungal cells, some of which
exist in their spore form, making it easier for them to survive the harsh conditions of the
atmosphere when they do become suspended.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, the causative agent, have been shown to remain viable in
air for up to 6 hours. The very small size of the bacterium (1-5µm range) allows it to remain
suspended in air within bioaerosols when released from the lung, where it becomes subject to
prevailing aerodynamics and can be transmitted to a susceptible host through inhalation,
especially in a poorly ventilated indoor space.

Fungi are found in air mostly as spores. Spores are generally able to survive harsh
environmental conditions for the following reasons: possession of a thicker cell wall; protective
small molecules (sugars, amino acids, sugar alcohols and betaine) and expression of heat
shock proteins. These features allow fungal spores to remain viable in air for longer periods
than their vegetative forms.

The disease caused by H. capsulatum, known as histoplasmosis, is transmitted by inhalation of

conidia and hyphal fragments of the fungus found in dust and aerosols, especially in enclosed
spaces like caves.

Environmental conditions, such as humidity of more than 60% (a common feature of bat caves),
and temperature of 18-28°C, influence its sporulation in soil.