Climate Change, Environmental Reservoirs, and Emerging Bacterial Pathogens

Climate change is transforming the Earth’s natural systems at an unprecedented pace, influencing temperature patterns, rainfall distribution, and the occurrence of extreme climatic events. These environmental disruptions extend far beyond ecological impacts, significantly affecting the persistence and spread of bacterial pathogens across human, animal, and environmental interfaces. Warmer temperatures, altered humidity, and changing water systems are creating new ecological niches that support the survival and transmission of bacterial pathogens in areas where they were once absent. Additionally, phenomena such as flooding, rising sea levels, and thawing permafrost can release dormant bacteria or enhance their dispersal through water, soil, and sediments. Human-driven factors, including globalization, population growth, intensive land use, and environmental contamination, further facilitate the movement of these pathogens across environmental reservoirs and regions. Consequently, the intersection of climate change, environmental reservoirs, and microbial ecology has become a critical area of research, essential for understanding bacterial emergence and developing effective One Health approaches for public health and environmental protection. At the same time, beneficial microbial communities may offer important opportunities to enhance resilience under climate stress, for example by supporting soil and plant health, improving water quality, limiting pathogen establishment, and contributing to environmentally sustainable mitigation strategies.This Research Topic aims to advance understanding of how climate change is reshaping environmental reservoirs of bacterial pathogens and influencing their emergence, transmission, adaptation, and persistence in a One Health context.A key problem that this Research Topic seeks to address is how climate change is accelerating the emergence and spread of bacterial pathogens, posing new challenges to global health and disease prevention. Rising temperatures, disrupted ecosystems, and shifting water cycles are enabling harmful bacteria to thrive in new regions, increasing the risk of outbreaks. Traditional antimicrobial strategies are becoming less effective due to antibiotic resistance and environmental changes. To address this, recent advances highlight the potential of microbiome-informed and nature-based strategies, including probiotic approaches, to help reduce bacterial persistence, restore microbial balance, and support ecosystem resilience. Beneficial microbes may also help strengthen climate resilience in agriculture, aquaculture, and other managed ecosystems by countering climate-related stresses and suppressing pathogen establishment. In parallel, microbial approaches that support environmental sustainability, including bioremediation, water quality improvement, and ecosystem restoration, may contribute to reducing bacterial risks in a changing climate. Integrating such approaches into public health strategies, agriculture, aquaculture, and water management systems may help reduce bacterial infections and environmental contamination. By combining climate modeling, genomic surveillance, resistome analysis, and microbial or biotechnological interventions, researchers can better predict pathogen behavior, mitigate risks, and develop sustainable solutions to protect human, animal, and environmental health in a changing climate.We particularly welcome contributions addressing:- climate-driven changes in bacterial ecology across environmental reservoirs- climate-associated drivers of bacterial migration, persistence, and transmission- roles of environmental reservoirs in transmission and persistence- impacts of rising temperatures, altered ecosystems, and shifting water dynamics on bacterial evolution, antimicrobial resistance, and host–pathogen interactions- interdisciplinary frameworks integrating microbiology, environmental science, epidemiology, and biotechnology within a One Health perspective- microbiome-informed, probiotic-based, and nature-inspired solutions to mitigate infection risks- beneficial microbial communities and microbiome-based strategies that enhance climate resilience in agriculture, aquaculture, and other managed ecosystems while reducing pathogen risks- microbial approaches supporting environmental sustainability under climate change, including bioremediation, water quality improvement, ecosystem restoration, and pathogen-suppressive functions of environmental microbiomesSubmissions may take the form of original research papers, comprehensive or mini-reviews, short communications, and perspective articles offering forward-looking insights. Work emphasizing innovative tools such as genomic surveillance, climate modeling, microbiome engineering, or resistome analysis to understand and manage bacterial threats in a warming world will be particularly valued and encouraged.If you are interested in submitting or have any questions, please contact the journal email: bacteriology@frontiersin.org. Topic editors: Ines Kovačić, Piyush Pandey Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80009/climate-change-environmental-reservoirs-and-emerging-bacterial-pathogens