The microbiome: Our planet’s tiny engine

Gabriele Berg has been researching the microbiome of plants and humans for about 25 years. Lunghammer - TU Graz By Birgit Baustädter We carry through life around two kilograms of microorganisms on and inside ourselves. Award-winning TU Graz researcher Gabriele Berg explains why this is more vital than frightening. . "In the beginning we were surprised about the sheer diversity of all the things we found!" Gabriele Berg is still delighted today when she talks about the year 2000. The new millenium saw the start of what over the next 20 years would prove to be a true treasure trove for countless scientific disciplines: research on everything related to microbiomes. The microbiome is a community of microorganisms that exist in a certain habitat or in and on living organisms.