Current State-of-the-Art

Extreme climate events and disasters, such as wildfires, droughts, heat waves, hurricanes, and floods, have devastating effects on ecosystems and are poised to become even more frequent and intense as the planet continues to warm. Combined with ecology, geosciences, and other research disciplines, engineering biology provides options to help study and mitigate impacts from extreme weather events and to assist in ecosystem restoration.

One of the most ecologically devastating impacts from global warming has been an increase in intensity and frequencies of wildfires.¹United Nations Environment Programme. (2022). Spreading like Wildfire: The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires. UNEP – UN Environment Programme. View Publication. While wildfires are a natural part of forest ecosystem cycles, extreme wildfires diminish the ability for forests to recover post-fire. Forest fires affect the full landscape of an ecosystem, including everything from trees, grasses, and shrubs, to lichen and mosses, soils, and waterways. To aid the recovery of forests after catastrophic fires, trees and forest soils could be seeded with engineered fungi, microbes, and microbial communities to improve water-retention, combat soil erosion, and improve bio-recycling of detritus and undergrowth.

Ocean warming and ocean acidification have been detrimental to marine and coastal ecosystems. Heat waves damage coral reefs and kelp forests and heighten the likelihood of toxic algal blooms.²Smale, D. A., Wernberg, T., Oliver, E. C. J., Thomsen, M., Harvey, B. P., Straub, S. C., Burrows, M. T., Alexander, L. V., Benthuysen, J. A., Donat, M. G., Feng, M., Hobday, A. J., Holbrook, N. J., Perkins-Kirkpatrick, S. E., Scannell, H. A., Sen Gupta, A., Payne, B. L., & Moore, P. J. (2019). Marine heatwaves threaten global biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services. Nature Climate Change, 9(4), 306–312. View Publication.^{, 3}EPA. (2013). Climate Change and Harmful Algal Blooms [Overviews and Factsheets]. View Publication. Engineering biology approaches, such as genetically engineering keystone marine and freshwater species to increase resistance to environmental stressors, could help protect parts of the marine ecosystem from the effects of climate change. For example, to mitigate or reverse coral bleaching, researchers are helping corals tolerate higher heat and lower pH levels by engineering symbiotic microbes that can colonize coral to facilitate reactive oxygen species scavenging.⁴Quigley, K. M., Alvarez Roa, C., Beltran, V. H., Leggat, B., & Willis, B. L. (2021). Experimental evolution of the coral algal endosymbiont, Cladocopium goreaui: Lessons learnt across a decade of stress experiments to enhance coral heat tolerance. Restoration Ecology, 29(3), e13342. View Publication. For coastal ecosystems, halotolerant plants, such as mangroves, could be developed to better adapt to rising sea levels.⁵Menéndez, P., Losada, I. J., Torres-Ortega, S., Narayan, S., & Beck, M. W. (2020). The Global Flood Protection Benefits of Mangroves. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 4404. View Publication.

Climate change is also altering the length and median temperature of seasons, with changing temperatures impacting population dynamics across ecosystems. These changes in population dynamics can lead to ecosystem collapses and catastrophes. In particular, research suggests warming summers and winters drive an increase in disease transmission of pathogens that target humans, including Zika, malaria, yellow fever, and dengue,⁶Anwar, A., Anwar, S., Ayub, M., Nawaz, F., Hyder, S., Khan, N., & Malik, I. (2019). Climate Change and Infectious Diseases: Evidence from Highly Vulnerable Countries. Iranian Journal of Public Health, 48(12), 2187–2195. View Publication.^{, 7}McDermott, A. (2022). Climate change hastens disease spread across the globe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(7), e2200481119. View Publication. animals (such as avian malaria; see Liao et al., 2017⁸Liao, W., Atkinson, C. T., LaPointe, D. A., & Samuel, M. D. (2017). Mitigating Future Avian Malaria Threats to Hawaiian Forest Birds from Climate Change. PLOS ONE, 12(1), e0168880. View Publication.; U.S. National Park Service, 2017⁹U.S. National Park Service. (2017). Tracking the Spread of Avian Malaria within Haleakalā National Park (U.S. National Park Service). Retrieved July 7, 2022, from View Publication.), and plants (such as bark and pine beetles; see Bentz et al., 2010¹⁰Bentz, B. J., Régnière, J., Fettig, C. J., Hansen, E. M., Hayes, J. L., Hicke, J. A., Kelsey, R. G., Negrón, J. F., & Seybold, S. J. (2010). Climate Change and Bark Beetles of the Western United States and Canada: Direct and Indirect Effects. BioScience, 60(8), 602–613. View Publication.; Sambaraju et al, 2012¹¹Sambaraju, K. R., Carroll, A. L., Zhu, J., Stahl, K., Moore, R. D., & Aukema, B. H. (2012). Climate change could alter the distribution of mountain pine beetle outbreaks in western Canada. Ecography, 35(3), 211–223. View Publication.; Ungerer et al., 1999¹²Ungerer, M. J., Ayres, M. P., & Lombardero, M. J. (1999). Climate and the northern distribution limits of Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmerman (Coleoptera: Scolytidae). Journal of Biogeography 26:1133-1145. View Publication.). Engineering biology could play a key role in mitigating risks from increased pathogen transmission and the spread of invasive species. For example, using gene drives, invasive insect species could be managed through engineered population control, such as altered mating success rate and fecundity based on desired traits (e.g., host genetic markers). Additionally, endangered species could be engineered for increased resistance against biotic and abiotic stresses, such as engineering the microbiome of honey bees and other pollinators to help protect them against pathogens and pesticides.

Breakthrough Capabilities & Milestones

Enhance forest restoration and recovery from fires and other environmental stressors.

Increase marine ecosystem resilience to adverse climatic factors through engineered biology and biomaterials.

*Liu, A. P., Appel, E. A., Ashby, P. D., Baker, B. M., Franco, E., Gu, L., Haynes, K., Joshi, N. S., Kloxin, A. M., Kouwer, P. H. J., Mittal, J., Morsut, L., Noireaux, V., Parekh, S., Schulman, R., Tang, S. K. Y., Valentine, M. T., Vega, S. L., Weber, W., … Chaudhuri, O. (2022). The living interface between synthetic biology and biomaterial design. Nature Materials, 21(4), 390–397. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-022-01231-3

Mitigate climate change-induced emergence of pathogens and invasive species.

Footnotes

1. United Nations Environment Programme. (2022). Spreading like Wildfire: The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires. UNEP – UN Environment Programme. http://www.unep.org/resources/report/spreading-wildfire-rising-threat-extraordinary-landscape-fires
2. Smale, D. A., Wernberg, T., Oliver, E. C. J., Thomsen, M., Harvey, B. P., Straub, S. C., Burrows, M. T., Alexander, L. V., Benthuysen, J. A., Donat, M. G., Feng, M., Hobday, A. J., Holbrook, N. J., Perkins-Kirkpatrick, S. E., Scannell, H. A., Sen Gupta, A., Payne, B. L., & Moore, P. J. (2019). Marine heatwaves threaten global biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services. Nature Climate Change, 9(4), 306–312. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-019-0412-1
3. EPA. (2013). Climate Change and Harmful Algal Blooms [Overviews and Factsheets]. https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/climate-change-and-harmful-algal-blooms
4. Quigley, K. M., Alvarez Roa, C., Beltran, V. H., Leggat, B., & Willis, B. L. (2021). Experimental evolution of the coral algal endosymbiont, Cladocopium goreaui: Lessons learnt across a decade of stress experiments to enhance coral heat tolerance. Restoration Ecology, 29(3), e13342. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13342
5. Menéndez, P., Losada, I. J., Torres-Ortega, S., Narayan, S., & Beck, M. W. (2020). The Global Flood Protection Benefits of Mangroves. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 4404. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-61136-6
6. Anwar, A., Anwar, S., Ayub, M., Nawaz, F., Hyder, S., Khan, N., & Malik, I. (2019). Climate Change and Infectious Diseases: Evidence from Highly Vulnerable Countries. Iranian Journal of Public Health, 48(12), 2187–2195. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6974868/
7. McDermott, A. (2022). Climate change hastens disease spread across the globe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(7), e2200481119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2200481119
8. Liao, W., Atkinson, C. T., LaPointe, D. A., & Samuel, M. D. (2017). Mitigating Future Avian Malaria Threats to Hawaiian Forest Birds from Climate Change. PLOS ONE, 12(1), e0168880. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0168880
9. U.S. National Park Service. (2017). Tracking the Spread of Avian Malaria within Haleakalā National Park (U.S. National Park Service). Retrieved July 7, 2022, from https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/tracking-the-spread-of-avian-malaria.htm
10. Bentz, B. J., Régnière, J., Fettig, C. J., Hansen, E. M., Hayes, J. L., Hicke, J. A., Kelsey, R. G., Negrón, J. F., & Seybold, S. J. (2010). Climate Change and Bark Beetles of the Western United States and Canada: Direct and Indirect Effects. BioScience, 60(8), 602–613. https://doi.org/10.1525/bio.2010.60.8.6
11. Sambaraju, K. R., Carroll, A. L., Zhu, J., Stahl, K., Moore, R. D., & Aukema, B. H. (2012). Climate change could alter the distribution of mountain pine beetle outbreaks in western Canada. Ecography, 35(3), 211–223. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2011.06847.x
12. Ungerer, M. J., Ayres, M. P., & Lombardero, M. J. (1999). Climate and the northern distribution limits of Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmerman (Coleoptera: Scolytidae). Journal of Biogeography 26:1133-1145. http://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/1327