Why Don’t Microbes Matter?
Why is Microbiology absent from major natural history exhibits?
I recently took a trip to London with my girlfriend.
She had never visited before and, as a first-timer, she was keen to visit as many of the tourist sites as possible. The British Museum, Borough Market, The Tower of London — you know the list.
I earned my stripes as a biologist while working in London and two places on the list stood out to me.
The first was Kew Gardens, where said stripes were earned. I had worked there for a year as an undergraduate studying the evolution of South-East Asian plants.
The second was The Natural History Museum. An old haunt at that time. It served for a good meeting place for us students when we had nothing better to do on a weekend. It was also where I attended my first academic conference.
Both had a formative influence on me and both are still inspirational.
If any burned out biologists are reading this (Hi there!), I cannot recommend a visit to your local botanic garden enough. They are tangible reminders of the complexity and beauty of life. An instant salve against the humdrum of lab politics and grant deadlines.
I cannot overstate the importance of such institutions. You should go. You should donate. You should become a member.
But.
After my first day in London, I sat in the café of the Natural History Museum and an uneasy thought occurred to me.
Where are the microbes?
The museum has dedicated sections to zoology , botany, anthropology and geology but there is no microbiology exhibit.
Given that, microbes are a prerequisite to natural history, why are they missing? Why is their contribution to natural history confined to a few throw away sentences on the odd placard? Why is there no microbiology exhibit?
A few days later, I visited Kew and had the same feeling.
You might argue that, as a botanical institute, the lack of reference to microbes is defensible. However, given that plant-microbe interactions are at the forefront of modern plant science, the omission is noticeable.
There have been increasing calls to recognise the importance of microbes in conservation efforts. Understanding microbial communities can increase the success of conservation projects. But, as always, public awareness and support is vital to secure funding for these projects in the long term.
We need to ask our educational institutes why they neglect microbes and what support is needed to put them on the agenda?
