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Anaerobic clinical microbiology remains a challenge due to specialist culture requirements, coupled with the increase in and spread of antimicrobial resistance. The normal human microbiota is primarily composed of anaerobic bacteria, and is now recognised as a source of life-threatening anaerobic infection. More recent metataxonomic and metagenomic sequencing has extended interest in the potential role of the microbiota in a plethora of other aspects of human health, from obesity to mental health. In addition, the successful use of faecal microbiota transplants for the treatment of clostridial infection raises potential unchartered long-term consequences and possibilities.

In conjunction with Anaerobe 2019 and Anaerobe 2021, this collection will provide scientific insights into the future impact of anaerobic bacteria in human health and disease, addressing the implications of recent microbiota studies as well as the continued threat of emerging and re-emerging anaerobic infection.

This collection is open for submissions – please submit your article here, stating that your manuscript is part of the Anaerobe collection.

Bacteria are found in every environment and live in complex communities, which are characterized by large densities and diverse compositions. In these microbiomes, bacteria constantly compete for resources, such as nutrients, space and oxygen. Bacteria use a vast arsenal to eliminate their competitors, from elaborate contact-dependent nano-harpoons to small diffusible toxic compounds. In addition to producing these, oftentimes, elaborate weapons, bacteria also employ a range of collective behaviors that, in turn, allow them to carefully regulate weapon production, coordinate their attack strategies with their clonemates, and distinguish friends from foe. In essence, these microscopic warriors take advantage of complex regulation and interbacterial interaction mechanisms to balance the costs of weapon production and deployment with the benefits of gaining precious resources. As such, they manage to not only survive in their highly competitive microcosms, but to also build stable communities that are often crucial for the health of their animal, plant and human hosts.

Over the years, Microbiology has published many studies that have expanded our understanding of the competitive mechanisms bacteria use to thrive in their niches, including, but not limited to, the molecular characterization of toxins or secretion systems and the investigation of interbacterial competition at the organismal level. Here, we take the opportunity to celebrate the journal’s transition to fully Open Access with a special collection of articles that highlights some of the most important areas of current research in this vibrant research field. This collection is guest edited by Professor Despoina A.I. Mavridou (The University of Texas at Austin, USA), Professor Tracy Palmer (Newcastle University, UK) and Dr Sabrina L. Slater (The University of Texas at Austin, USA).

Image shows three differentially labelled Escherichia coli colonies, each of which is producing a different colicin toxin. Colicins are part of the bacteriocin toxin family, an ensemble of diffusible proteinaceous toxins that bacteria release, usually by lysis, to kill phylogenetically similar strains and species. Bacterial killing can be seen characteristically as an area of clearance at the edge of two of the three colonies. Courtesy of Despoina A.I. Mavridou (The University of Texas at Austin).

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can infect a range of hosts. They are known to cause diseases including the common cold, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in humans.

In January 2020, China saw an outbreak of a new coronavirus strain now named SARS-CoV-2. Although the animal reservoir for the SARS and MERS viruses are known, this has yet to have been confirmed for SARS-CoV-2. All three strains are transmissible between humans.

To allow the widest possible distribution of relevant research, the Microbiology Society has brought together articles from across our portfolio and made this content freely available.

Image credit: "MERS-CoV" by NIAID is licensed under CC BY 2.0, this image has been modified.

Each year, the Microbiology Society Council offer Honorary Membership to distinguished microbiologists who have made a significant contribution to the science. In 2019, David J. Rowlands (Emeritus Professor of Virology, University of Leeds) was appointed an Honorary Member.

This collection brings together Journal of General Virology articles authored by David Rowlands.  

Over the last two decades, genome sequencing has become an important tool for understanding and tracking the spread of pathogens. Genomic epidemiology is now a preferred method of surveillance and recent years have seen pathogen sequencing at an unprecedented scale, pushing the underlying technologies to the limit. This has brought major innovations and opportunities to public attention, as well as identifying new research areas. However, major challenges remain in public health settings. These include: incorporating new sequencing technologies and data types for real-time surveillance; developing platforms and nomenclatures for genome-based typing and epidemiology; understanding pathogen evolution and the emergence of virulence and antimicrobial resistance; contextualizing knowledge of clinical microbiology with One Health ecological genomics. In this collection, we bring together recent studies that are establishing pathogen genomics as a major part of contemporary disease control efforts.

The skin is our biggest organ and a primary protective barrier from pathogens. The microbiome of this highly varied environment is now being described in unprecedented detail, revealing complex multispecies communities that play important roles in skin health, the development of the immune system and in wound healing. This collection aims to bring together knowledge of what these microbes are, how they colonise this often nutrient poor and challenging niche, and how they work together to suppress the growth of pathogens, while in themselves also being potential accidental pathogens if the skin barrier is broken.

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the UK International Coronavirus Network (UK-ICN) - Biotechnology and Biological Research Council (BBSRC) and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Biosafety Level 4 Zoonotic Laboratory Network (BSL4ZNet), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) collective bring together findings and lessons learnt for science foresight perspectives on Coronaviruses into our future.  

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of most urgent global threats to our healthcare systems, economies, the environment and animal health. Microbiologists in academic, industrial and clinical settings worldwide are at the forefront of developing innovative solutions to tackle AMR. We believe now is the time to act and focus on an interdisciplinary, solutions-driven approach in a ‘One Health’ context. To this end, the Microbiology Society is launching the ‘Knocking Out AMR’ project, an ambitious, bold and extensive scheme of work aiming to promote feasible and effective solutions to AMR through cross-disciplinary and multi-sector collaboration worldwide.

To accompany this, we are building a Knocking Out AMR collection to serve as a central hub for the AMR content published in our portfolio. This page will soon be updated with new content as well as relevant research already published in our portfolio. In the meantime, check out our existing AMR collections:

Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial Efflux

X-AMR, a pop-up journal

Our community provide opinions, views and authoritative perspectives on work published in our journals.

In the constantly evolving world of microbiology, new research and discoveries can often be overwhelming. ‘Microbial Primers’ is a series of short articles designed to simplify and illuminate intricate microbiological concepts, making them easily digestible and accessible. Each article in the series focuses on a specific subject, distilling it to the most fundamental points, and explaining its importance in the wider scientific context. The series serves as a starting point, to encourage further exploration and discovery in the fascinating world of microbes. Whether you're an early career researcher or an established scientist looking to broaden your horizons, ‘Microbial Primers’ is your first-step navigational tool in the expansive landscape of microbiology.

Photo credit: iStock/SpicyTruffel

Microbial Genomics is partnered with Microreact, a free data visualisation and sharing platform that allows scientists and health professionals worldwide to better collaborate to understand disease outbreaks. The journal encourages authors to upload their data files to Microreact, which can then provide interactive querying of the data via trees, maps, timelines and tables, and will be published in Microbial Genomics via a permanent web link. This collection brings together articles that have data sets generated by this software.

If you would like to see your work included in this collection, please click here for more information, or submit your article here.

In light of its recent resurgence and emergency declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Microbiology Society is bringing together research on mpox.

Mpox is a zoonotic viral infectious disease, a double-stranded DNA virus species belonging to the genus Orthopoxvirus, which includes two distinct clades: clade 1 and clade 2. Mpox infection is transmitted by close skin contacts or breathing, and results in skin lesions, flu-like symptoms and can result in fatal outcomes. Clade 1 has been historically linked to the Congo Basin while Clade 2 is associated with West Africa and caused the global outbreak that occurred from 2022 to 2023, classed at the time as public health emergency by the WHO. Mpox is classified within the genus Orthopoxvirus and is a member of the Poxviridae family, which the WHO has identified as having the potential for epidemic or pandemic outbreaks. Significant concerns arose in recent weeks due to the spread of a new outbreak linked to Clade 1b displaying increased mortality when compared to previous cases, which prompted an upped response from the WHO.

Image credit: iStock/Gilnature

Access Microbiology provides a platform to publish sound science across the entire field of microbiology. Negative results are an integral part of sound science and research integrity, adding value to the scientific literature that is often overlooked. In line with the platform’s mission, we have collated impactful negative results studies published since Access Microbiology’s launch in 2019. Science integrity consultant Elisabeth Bik provides an editorial for this collection, on the importance and value of negative data.

With ongoing debate in the scientific community about research integrity and the pressure to publish novel results, we want to highlight the high quality negative results studies published on the platform. New papers will be added to the collection as these are published.

This collection highlights Outbreak Reports published in Microbial Genomics. Outbreak reports are short-format articles that investigate the key role that genomics plays in investigating communicable disease outbreaks.

If you would like to see your work included in this collection click here for more information. Microbial Genomics is looking for novel and interesting stories describing unique applications of genomics at any stage of an outbreak.

This collection brings together original research articles, mini-reviews, and full-length reviews relating to Pseudomonas in conjunction with the International Biennial Pseudomonas Conference.

Guest edited on the occasion of the 2024 Pseudomonas Conference in Copenhagen (Denmark) by Prof Pablo Ivan Nikel, Dr Varsha Singh and Prof Lars Dietrich, the collection will not only be relevant to scientists with an interest in Pseudomonas, but also, due to the widespread use of this genus as a model for studying multiple systems, it will be of general interest to other researchers active in areas such as evolutionary biology, communication systems, genomics and biofilm research. In addition, because P. aeruginosa is a key pathogen associated with both acute and chronic infections, and particularly important in the context of cystic fibrosis and antimicrobial resistance, the collection will be of interest to clinicians and clinical researchers.

The collection was launched on the occasion of the 2019 Pseudomonas Conference in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and past guest editors are Dr Joanna Goldberg and Prof Kalai Mathee.