To coincide with the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, we present a set of specially commissioned commentary and review articles that call attention to the outsized impact of microbes on the environment.

Here the authors review how microbial metabolism could offer greener options for the synthesis and breakdown of plastic monomers and polymers.

Increased heat tolerance in fungi with pathogenic potential due to global warming could bring new fungal diseases.

Longitudinal population-based surveillance identifies shifts in HIV transmission patterns related to age and sex, suggesting that HIV programmes to increase HIV suppression in men are crucial to reduce incidence in women.

Cycling of the sulfur compound DMSOP by dimethylsulfoniopropionate lyase enzymes in the most abundant marine bacteria, algae and fungi is diverse and prevalent in Earth’s oceans and sediments and probably impacts climate-active gas production.

Sustainable, gram-scale production of beet red food colourant with engineered Yarrowia lipolytica is described.

DNA analysis of ancient dental calculus samples revealed distinct oral microbial communities, including the archaeon Methanobrevibacter, which was associated with hygiene, diet and health.

On-farm experiments in 54 fields in Switzerland show that inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can promote crop yield, and inoculation success can be predicted using soil microbiome indicators.

Detection of GBS DNA in the placenta is associated with neonatal unit admission, infant morbidity and, in some cases, sepsis and foetal cytokine storm.

The spread of vector-borne infectious diseases is driven by a complex array of environmental and social drivers, including climate and land-use changes. Global and regional action is urgently needed to tackle carbon emissions and deforestation to halt future outbreaks.

To coincide with the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, we present a set of specially commissioned commentary and review articles that call attention to the outsized impact of microbes on the environment.

Increased heat tolerance in fungi with pathogenic potential due to global warming could bring new fungal diseases.

Climate changes can destabilize soil microbial communities, but compound and sequential extreme climate events will magnify the destabilizing effects to other trophic levels — thereby impacting terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.