Microbial Diversity: Its Exploration and Need of Conservation

Microbial diversity is fundamental to maintenance and conservation of global genetic resources. Actions must be taken to estimate, record, and conserve microbial diversity, not only to sustain human health, but also to enhance the human condition globally through sensible use and conservation of genetic resources of the microbial world. The microbial world is the largest unexplored reservoir of biodiversity on the earth. The exploration of microbial diversity has been prompted by the fact that microbes are essential for life, since they perform numerous functions essential for the environment that include nutrient recycling and environmental detoxification. Priceless contribution of microbial diversity in commercial and industrial applications promoted the management of the same for sustainable use. Natural environment is diverse and the enormous potential of microorganisms to provide novel pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and new technologies, is used by the biotechnology industry. Unfortunately, despite the evident economic value of microbial diversity, microorganisms have been mostly ignored in debates on the conservation and management of global diversity. There is, therefore, an urgent need to motivate researchers to be more apprehensive about the conservation, management, and exploitation of microbial diversity.