Crossing boundaries, microbes disperse easily (Image: NASA)
THERE are more microbes on Earth than there are stars in the universe. They occupy every ecological niche, from deep-sea vents to the human gut. So you’d expect them to be staggeringly diverse. But the latest studies suggest there may be far less variation than thought.
David Wilkinson of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK says the diversity of microbes depends on the ease with which they are transported across geographical boundaries. “One of the reasons why there are so many species of big things is because of geographical isolation,” he…
