Integrated Microbial Biodiversity Program

The human body contains more bacterial cells than human cells. Microbe communities also populate the air, water and soil of every part of the planet. In volcano calderas, in Arctic ice, in rainforests, deserts, ocean bottoms, permafrost and tar sands, microbes live and thrive in greater numbers, greater volume and greater diversity, than all other living things on the planet combined.

Microbes make us sick and keep us healthy. They create most of the oxygen we breathe. They are a key part of any ecosystem, and integral to many industrial processes. From natural gas extraction to wastewater treatment, from soil remediation to alternative energy sources, microbes are one of the most potent forces on our planet.

Despite their ubiquity and their influence on human life, microbial communities are virtually invisible. And until recently, the very diversity of the microbial world made it virtually impossible to conduct authoritative, meaningful research in this area.

Not anymore.

CIFAR has assembled a team of leading researchers from across Canada and around the world that is capable of taking on the monumental task of exploring this astounding universe of bacteria, viruses, and other microbes.

CIFAR’s Integrated Microbial Biodiversity program is transforming human understanding of the web of life, and changing the way we approach medicine and health, environmental sustainability, and evolutionary biology itself.