New framework to reveal how microbial modulators can work alongside agricultural practices to boost plant performance
Scientists have proposed a new framework for understanding how microbes, soil fauna, viruses and compounds in the soil can be used alongside agricultural practices to reshape the native plant microbiome and boost plant performance.
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How globalisation is reshaping traditional diets, our food culture, and gut microbiome
Globalisation has transformed not only the way we trade, travel and eat, but also the microbes that live with us. As food systems become increasingly interconnected, traditional diets that have shaped human gut microbiomes for generations are increasingly being replaced by a globalised food culture dominated by ultra-processed foods.
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Advancing animal disease outbreak management in support of a One Health approach
Animal health is often overlooked, with global expenditure reaching just a fraction (around 0.4 percent) of total human health spending, yet it is a crucial component of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) One Health approach. The One Health initiative highlights the commonalities between human, animal and environmental health and aims ...
Soil microbes and the hidden network connecting plants, animals, and humans
Coevolution has shaped Earth’s ecosystems for over a billion years. However, climate change and unprecedented anthropogenic activities have placed immense pressure on the soil ecosystem over the past few decades.
Azotobacter: a microbial route to green and sustainable ammonia
Ammonia is one of the most important chemicals in modern society. It plays a central role in global food production as the key ingredient in fertilizers that sustain nearly half of the world’s population. Beyond agriculture, ammonia has recently attracted growing attention as a potential carbon-free energy carrier and hydrogen ...
Under the Lens video series
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 4
The microscopic organisms living around plant roots may hold the key to reducing agriculture’s reliance on chemical fertilisers and other non-renewable inputs, according to plant microbiome researcher Dr Davide Bulgarelli.
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 3
Is raw milk safe to drink? Prof Emmanuel Adukwu is joined by Prof Nicola Holden and Dr Gil Domingue for a conversation on the societal, scientific, and health implications of this pertinent question.
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 2
In our second episode, Dr Callum Cooper joins Professor Emmanuel Adukwu to talk about all things bacteriophage, from alternatives to antibiotics, social impact, and regulation.
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 1
In our first episode, Professor Raquel Peixoto joins Professor Jack Gilbert for a deep dive into coral reefs, microbes, and the future of our planet.
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 4
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 3
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 2
The Microbiologist: Under the Lens | Episode 1
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Federal research rule changes could reshape applied microbiology in America
On June 5, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed sweeping changes to federal grant administration that would fundamentally alter how applied microbiology research and development is funded and conducted in America.
Fungi that inspired The Last of Us may hold the key to a pesticide-free agriculture
They may be the stuff of our nightmares, but Aditya Singh Ranout reveals how invisible allies underneath our feet in the form of entomopathogenic fungi are transforming agriculture - and why these fascinating microbes may hold the key to a pesticide-free agriculture.
Why cruise ships remain vulnerable to viral outbreaks - and how new technologies could help
A dream holiday can quickly become a public health challenge when thousands of people share the same dining rooms, elevators and living spaces. Recent viral outbreaks on cruise ships have shown just how vulnerable these floating cities remain to infectious diseases.
Cortona Prokaryotes: fostering researcher identity for young scientists since 1984
This summer, Letters in Applied Microbiology sponsored the Cortona Prokaryotes congress in Italy, organised by the Italian Society of General Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology (SIMGBM). Loredana Baccigalupi, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Naples, reports back.
Member Q&A: Tanja’s pathway to policy-oriented papers
Head of Bioresources Unit of the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology Tanja Kostić, PhD, reveals how AMI membership has supported her professional development and career journey.
Q&A: Meet Letters in Applied Microbiology Junior Reviewer Rabiath Féichokpè Raïssa Adigoun
We caught up with Dr. Rabiath Féichokpè Raïssa Adigoun, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin who is one of the newest Junior Reviewers with Letters in Applied Microbiology.
Pet dog microbiota may protect young children from respiratory tract infections
Children who have been in contact with dogs in early childhood are on average healthier and require fewer antibiotic courses than children without such contact. The protective association is explained, at least in part, by the spread of dog-associated microbes in the home.
Eating a diverse range of plants everyday results in more favorable changes to microbiome than a probiotic
New research shows eating a wide variety of plants everyday could be more beneficial to the microbiome than taking a standard probiotic.
Aiming for more targeted treatment of serious lung infections
Microbial experts are using DNA sequencing readings to provide more accurate identification of microbial infections, which helps to address risks from long-term use of antibiotics in cystic fibrosis patients.
Food security
Could understanding leaf surfaces lead to new ways to prevent crop disease?
Researchers have adopted a biointerfaces approach to the problem of fungicide resistance in plant diseases. Rather than treating fungal diseases with nontargeted fungicide application, they suggest looking at the location where plant-fungi interactions begin: the leaf’s surface.
Clean Water
New coastal pathogen database maps microbial risks across global waters
A new platform allows better mapping of global coastal environments to help track pathogens and associated risk factors.
Biologist wins NSF CAREER Award to study the ocean’s most abundant microbe
Anne Thompson, an associate professor of biology, won a nearly $1.2 million NSF CAREER Award to answer a basic question about the ocean that science has largely left open: who eats the most abundant photosynthetic life form on Earth?
