Ying Teng

1. Introduction Click to copy section linkSection link copied! While carbon monoxide (CO) is a potent poison for many aerobic organisms, this gas has also played an ancient and sustained role as an energy and carbon source for microbial communities. (1−4) This duality highlights the complexity of CO’s interaction with microbial life.

Introduction Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most significant public health concerns worldwide, affecting millions of people each year and leading to varying degrees of physical, cognitive, and psychological impairments.1 This injury results from a direct or indirect impact on the head, often caused by motor vehicle accidents, falls, physical assaults, sports-related injuries, and industrial accidents.

Abstract Carbon monoxide (CO) is both a potent poison for many aerobic organisms and a desirable energy source for diverse microorganisms. Atmospheric emissions of this gas have increased since industrialization and their levels are highly elevated in many urban and natural environments; however, it is unresolved whether elevated levels of CO at environmentally relevant concentrations are primarily stimulatory or inhibitory to soil microbial communities.