20th Anniversary

Marking 20 years of Nature Reviews Microbiology, we reflect on the increasing importance of microbiology in our ever-changing world.

The forthcoming UN summit marks the halfway point to 2030 and presents an important milestone in global efforts to address various challenges, including those related to climate change and environmental preservation. The UN SDGs include several related to microorganisms and climate change. Microbiology research is key to understanding and mitigating climate change, and in maintaining the health of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems (SDGs 13, 14 and 15).

The human microbiome has a crucial role in global health, with implications for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Understanding and harnessing the potential of the microbiome, while recognizing its link to the global ecosystem, can drive innovative strategies for improved public health, and promote sustainable development.

Infectious diseases markedly influence progress towards the SDGs. Pandemics and global inequity have hindered progress towards the health targets, highlighting humanity’s interconnectedness and shared vulnerability to new infectious agents. Enhanced global collaboration and partnerships in training, surveillance, research and innovation are essential to reach the health SDGs by 2030.

In this Journal Club, Lisa Maier explores Abigail Salyers’ groundbreaking research on Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, focusing on how she established a new genetic system and investigated how these gut bacteria bind and use starch, uncovering important insights into their metabolism.

In this Journal Club, Rebecca Shapiro discusses the discovery of the earliest antifungal drug, nystatin, by pioneering women Elizabeth Hazen and Rachel Brown.

In this Journal Club, Chelsey Spriggs discusses how the study of simian virus 40 (SV40) revealed a key sequence in the large T antigen that directs its transport into the cell nucleus, advancing our understanding of nuclear import mechanics.

In this Journal Club, Sarah Auburn discusses the pioneering development of the first framework for whole-genome sequencing of natural malaria infections, revolutionizing malaria genomics.

In this Journal Club, Tao Zuo discusses a study by Gogokhia et al. who found that gut bacteriophages can alter mucosal immunity to impact mammalian health.

In this Journal Club, Edmund Loh explores the pioneering work of Jun-Ichi Tomizawa and colleagues, which uncovers the importance of a small RNA in plasmid replication and elucidates its mechanism of action.

In this Journal Club, Thulani Makhalanyane discusses research revealing the existence of diverse and novel defence islands in bacteria and archaea.

In this Journal Club, Gonzalo Moratorio discusses a study using deep mutational scanning (DMS) to uncover how the influenza virus evades the host immune response, highlighting the potential of DMS in understanding the evolutionary arms race between pathogens and hosts.

In this Journal Club, Anja Spang discusses the discovery of nanosized archaea, transforming our knowledge of archaeal phylogeny and shedding light on their roles in ecology and evolution.

In this Review, Singh et al. explore the impact of future climate scenarios on plant pathogen burden and biogeography, their interaction with the plant microbiome and the consequences on plant disease and productivity in different ecosystems. They propose different approaches to ensure long-term global food security.

In this Review, Landovitz, Scott and Deeks explore the current state of the art for HIV prevention and treatment, including unmet needs and emerging tools. They describe how researchers are combining different approaches, such as prevention, treatment and cure, to achieve better outcomes in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

In this Review, Martínez, Hernando-Amado and colleagues explore how eco-evolutionary-based approaches can aid in the design of successful antibiotic therapies, including the exploitation of evolutionary trade-offs, targeting bacterial metabolism and studying the ancestral functions of antibiotic resistance determinants.

In this Review, Georjon and Bernheim provide an overview of the molecular diversity of the most recently discovered bacterial antiphage defence systems and discuss their evolution and the ecological impact of their diversity.

Bacterial populations produce persisters, cells that neither grow nor die in the presence of bactericidal agents, and are tolerant to antibiotics. The tolerance of persisters to antibiotics is important in persistent infections, and is especially significant in the recalcitrance of biofilms to antibiotics during infection.

Resistance to antibiotics in microorganisms predates the use of these drugs. This Review examines why antibiotic resistance is inevitable and where it originates from.

CRISPR systems, which are composed of direct repeats that are separated by similarly sized non-repetitive spacers, confer resistance to phages in many bacteria and most archaea. This new antiviral tactic is thought to involve an RNA-interference-like mechanism, and is reviewed in this Progress article.

Leah Cowen reviews the mechanisms that potentiate the evolution of fungal drug resistance, with an emphasis on the central role of the molecular chaperone heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) in altering the relationship between genotype and phenotype in an environmentally contingent manner, which thereby 'sculpts' the course of evolution.

New sequencing methods have enabled the assembly of whole microbial genomes in a matter of days, greatly expanding the volume and scope of microbial sequencing efforts. This article reviews the current capabilities of the various high-throughput sequencing technologies and data analysis tools in the context of their application to microbial genomics.

The gut microbiota, traditionally studied in the context of disease, has emerged as a key regulator during normal homeostasis. Here, Sommer and Bäckhed discuss how the gut microbiota promotes the development and homeostasis of the immune system and orchestrates several aspects of human physiology, including tissue morphogenesis, metabolism and even behaviour.

In this Review, Waksman and colleagues describe the structural and mechanistic details of the six secretion systems (types I–VI) of Gram-negative bacteria, the unique mycobacterial type VII secretion system, the chaperone–usher pathway and the curli biogenesis machinery. They discuss both conserved and divergent properties of these systems and their potential as targets of novel antibacterial compounds.

In this Review, Oikonomou and Jensen discuss how electron cryotomography has provided structural and mechanistic insights into the physiology of bacteria and archaea, from morphogenesis to subcellular compartmentalization and from metabolism to complex interspecies interactions.

In this article, James Liaoet al. review how microorganisms can be explored for the production of next-generation biofuels. They discuss the different substrates that are available for biofuel production and how these substrates can be directed to various biosynthetic pathways, and they highlight examples of microbial engineering aimed at optimizing biofuel production.

Plasmodiumparasites alter the physiology and morphology of erythrocytes by exporting hundreds of proteins into the host cell. In this Review, de Koning-Wardet al. discuss how these parasites use distinct protein trafficking motifs, protease-mediated polypeptide processing, a novel translocon and membranous structures to induce host cell remodelling and promote their own survival.

Although viral sequences are important in taxonomy, classification has typically also required biological properties, thus excluding viruses that were identified by metagenomics. The proposals in this Consensus Statement, which are supported by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), enable viruses that are discovered by sequence alone to be incorporated into virus classification.

Soil contains a vast diversity of microorganisms that can directly or indirectly modulate soil processes and terrestrial ecosystems. In this Review, Fierer summarizes the challenges in characterizing the composition and functions of the soil microbiome, and discusses key future research directions.

The Archaea was recognized as a third domain of life 40 years ago. In this Review, Emeet al. outline a brief history of the changing shape of the tree of life and examine how the recent discovery of diverse archaeal lineages has changed our understanding of the evolutionary relationships between the three domains of life and the origin of the eukaryotic cell.

Haldar and colleagues discuss markers and mechanisms of resistance to artemisinins and artemisinin-based combination therapies. They describe the identification ofPlasmodium falciparum Kelch 13 as the primary and, to date, sole causative marker of artemisinin resistance in P. falciparumand explore two proposed resistance mechanisms. They emphasize continuing challenges to improve detection strategies and new drug development strategies.

The microbial majority with which we share Earth often goes unnoticed despite underlying major biogeochemical cycles and food webs, thereby taking a key role in climate change. This Consensus Statement highlights the importance of climate change microbiology and issues a call to action for all microbiologists.

In this Review, Shi and colleagues summarize the exceptional amount of research that has characterized acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) since this virus has swept around the globe. They discuss what we know so far about the emergence and virology of SARS-CoV-2 and the pathogenesis and treatment of COVID-19.

In this Review, Trivedi and colleagues explore the interactions between plants, their associated microbial communities and the environment, and also discuss how those interactions shape the assembly of plant-associated microbiomes and modulate their beneficial traits.

Microbiome-based therapeutics hold great promise for reducing disease susceptibility and enhancing disease resistance. In this Review, Sorbara and Pamer explore the major bacterial phyla associated with health benefits and the potential of microbiome-based therapeutics, including faecal microbiota transplantation, bacterial consortia, engineered symbiotic bacteria, diet and prebiotics, and microbiome-derived proteins and metabolites. They also discuss the challenges confronting therapeutic development as well as the regulatory hurdles for clinical trials and manufacturing.