International Day for Biological Diversity, interview with Philippe Sansonetti – The challenge and importance of preserving microbial biodiversity

Microbes represent 95% of the biodiversity of the living world, but when the issue of biodiversity preservation is raised, these invisible organisms rarely get a mention. To mark the International Day for Biological Diversity, Philippe Sansonetti, Professor Emeritus at the Institut Pasteur and the Collège de France, spoke about the importance of protecting microbial biodiversity. 
 
The interview with Philippe Sansonetti was an opportunity to explore why microbes are often neglected when addressing the topic of biodiversity; to ask whether the human impact on the environment and climate is also threatening microbial biodiversity; and to explain why protecting microbial diversity is crucial and what biodiversity loss would mean for ecosystems and human health.

Find out more and read the interview with Philippe Sansonetti
 
For more information

· Sansonetti P., Microbes sans frontières, Paris, éditions Odile Jacob, 2024

· Lecture at the Collège de France, Évolution des écosystèmes microbiens sous la pression du changement climatique (in French)

· Inaugural lecture at the Collège de France, Des microbes et des hommes. Guerre et paix aux surfaces muqueuses (in French)