“Willundoubtedlyshapeourunderstandingoftheglobalecosystemfordecadestocome.“--SiddharthaMukherjee,authorofTheEmperorofAllMaladiesAcelebratedgenomescientistsailsaroundtheworld,collectingtensofmillionsofmarinemicrobesandrevolutionizingourunderstandingofthemicrobiomethatsustainsus.UponcompletinghishistoricworkontheHumanGenomeProject,J.CraigVenterdeclaredthathewouldsequencethegeneticcodeofalllifeonearth.Thusbeganafifteen-yearquesttocollectDNAfromtheworld’soldestandmostabundantformoflife:microbes.BoardingtheSorcererII,a100-footsailboatturnedresearchvessel,Ventertraveledover65,000milesaroundtheglobetosampleoceanwaterandthemicroscopiclifewithin.InTheVoyageofSorcererII,VenterandsciencewriterDavidEwingDuncantelltheremarkablestoryoftheseexpeditionsandofthemomentousdiscoveriesthatensued--ofplant-likebacteriathatgettheirenergyfromthesun,proteinsthatmetabolizevastamountsofhydrogen,andmicrobeswhosegenesshieldthemfromultravioletlight.Theresultwasamassivelibraryofmillionsofunknowngenes,thousandsofunseenproteinfamilies,andnewlineagesofbacteriathatrevealedtheunimaginablecomplexityoflifeonearth.Yetdespitethisexquisitediversity,Venterencounteredsoberingremindersofhowhumanactivityisdisturbingthedelicatemicrobialecosystemthatnurtureslifeonearth.Inthefaceofunprecedentedclimatechange,VenterandDuncanshowhowwecanharnessthemicrobialgenometodevelopalternativesourcesofenergy,food,andmedicinethatmightultimatelyavertourdestruction.Acaptivatingstoryofexplorationanddiscovery,TheVoyageofSorcererIIrestoresmicrobestotheirrightfulplaceascrucialpartnersinourevolutionarypastandguidestoourfuture.
