Barnabas Gall

1 Introduction While synthetic nitrogen fertiliser is indispensable to our existing agricultural systems, it is also a significant contributor to climate change and pollution (Bodirsky et al. 2014; Menegat et al. 2022). Fertiliser production, which currently still relies on hydrogen generated from fossil fuels, is a major source of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. The transport of fertiliser to farms and its distribution further contribute to its carbon footprint.

1 Introduction While synthetic nitrogen fertiliser is indispensable to our existing agricultural systems, it is also a significant contributor to climate change and pollution (Bodirsky et al. 2014; Menegat et al. 2022). Fertiliser production, which currently still relies on hydrogen generated from fossil fuels, is a major source of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. The transport of fertiliser to farms and its distribution further contribute to its carbon footprint.

Viewing protein evolution through the lens of complex systems theory may offer new insights into the principles driving biological adaptation. In this Comment we explore how characteristics such as sensitivity to initial conditions and self-organization are observed in protein evolution and discuss how machine learning can help model these dynamics to guide protein engineering.