MICROB-COM, recognizing the interdisciplinary nature of the project objectives, combined desk-based review of literature pertaining to microbial ecology, genomics and patent laws with empirical research on microbial applications in agriculture and ecosystem management. Experiments were designed using local crops and symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) as a model system to demonstrate how these organisms when applied as agricultural inputs can offer economic and sustainable options to manage agroecosystems. These works have been published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, Environmental Pollution and Mycorrhiza with respective impact factors of 14.2 9.98 and 3.856. These articles demonstrate the ecosystem function of symbiotic soil fungi, how they restore damaged soils, regenerate agricultural health by making nutrients available for crops and contribute to human nourishment. These fungi, along with other associated microbes are important contributors in achieving Zero hunger- sustainable development goal number 2. A book chapter that critically reviewed the role of arbuscular mycorrhizas in sustainable climate smart agriculture was also written (in Press). A critical evaluation of the research outcomes from the empirical works and desk-based review of literature indicated that a commons regime only shifts ‘ownership’ from private to community and may still ignore the claims of farmers and indigenous people to access and use microbial and biological resources. It fails to offer level playing fields between financially and informationally strong corporations and disadvantaged Indigenous and other globally disempowered groups. Moreover, it is still part of a wider anthropocentric framing and does not address the ethical question of commodifying living entities of nature. Therefore, MICROB-COM aimed at incorporating into patent laws, the developments in International Environmental Law that had initiated attempts to recognise rights of nature in its own capacity independent of human existence. MICROB-COM shifted narrative from a human oriented Commons claim over biological resources to developing a legal paradigm to recognise nature’s intellectual property rights on evolution of beneficial traits.
Research outcomes have been disseminated through publications in peer-reviewed academic Journals and a book chapter. MICROB-COM also engaged with stakeholders (farmers, researchers, legal scholars) through popular public disseminations. A workshop was organized at the University of Strathclyde to build awareness among farmers to: (i) benefits of applications of microbial inputs to improve crop growth, yields and protection from pathogens, and (ii) the legal risks associated with patented microorganisms.
