Charting a path for microbial conservation in the IUCN: report on “Conservation in a Microbial World” meeting in San Diego, CA, May 2025

Abstract In May 2025, the “Conservation in a Microbial World” conference was hosted at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography to address the lack of microbial representation in international conservation frameworks (i.e. International Union for Conservation of Nature—IUCN). Organized by Drs. Redford, Gilbert, Friedman, and Rodríguez, the meeting explored the importance of the microbial world in conservation and what can be done to include microbes in global conservation. The meeting gathered together experts in fungi, bacteria, and viruses with backgrounds in climate science, genomics, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and human health, spanning research, industry, conservation, and policy. Key themes included: how to communicate the importance of microbes, how to conserve microbes themselves, and how microbes could be integrated into existing conservation. The primary outcome was the launch of the IUCN Species Survival Commission—Microbial Conservation Specialist Group. This initiative marks a pivotal step toward incorporating microbial life into global biodiversity conservation policy and practice.

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Publication Details

Journal
Sustainable Microbiology
Published
2025-01-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/sumbio/qvaf026
Primary Topic
Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Charting a path for microbial conservation in the IUCN: report on “Conservation in a Microbial World” meeting in San Diego, CA, May 2025

Antje Boëtius, Mary M. Buschmann, Fengping Wang, Robert Friedman et al.
Sustainable Microbiology
Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
article

Charting a path for microbial conservation in the IUCN: report on “Conservation in a Microbial World” meeting in San Diego, CA, May 2025

Antje Boëtius, Mary M. Buschmann, Fengping Wang, Robert Friedman, Janet Jansson, Sarah M. Allard, Christopher L. Dupont, Louis‐Patrick Haraoui, Jon Paul Rodrı́guez, Gregory M. Mueller, Nadine Lamberski, Thomas M. Brooks, Axel Hochkirch, Suzanne L. Ishaq, Miguel Lurgi, Amber Hartman Scholz, Kent H. Redford, Drew Endy, F Stephenson, Chris Walzer, Emily Kunselman, Jack A. Gilbert, Neil A. Cox, Colin Averill, Valeria Souza, Sean M. Gibbons, Raquel Silva Peixoto, Sho M. Kodera, Karsten Zengler, Maria Gloria Domínguez-Bello, Ryan M. Phelan, Rob Knight, Adam Jones, Vanessa R. Minnis, Alexander Dehgan
article en

Abstract

Abstract In May 2025, the “Conservation in a Microbial World” conference was hosted at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography to address the lack of microbial representation in international conservation frameworks (i.e. International Union for Conservation of Nature—IUCN). Organized by Drs. Redford, Gilbert, Friedman, and Rodríguez, the meeting explored the importance of the microbial world in conservation and what can be done to include microbes in global conservation. The meeting gathered together experts in fungi, bacteria, and viruses with backgrounds in climate science, genomics, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and human health, spanning research, industry, conservation, and policy. Key themes included: how to communicate the importance of microbes, how to conserve microbes themselves, and how microbes could be integrated into existing conservation. The primary outcome was the launch of the IUCN Species Survival Commission—Microbial Conservation Specialist Group. This initiative marks a pivotal step toward incorporating microbial life into global biodiversity conservation policy and practice.

Sustainable MicrobiologyVol. 2(4)
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US), Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CA), International Union for Conservation of Nature (Bangladesh) (BD), SeaWorld Entertainment (US), J. Craig Venter Institute (US), Conservation International (US), Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (US), Zoological Society of San Diego (US), Geoscience Australia (AU), Wildlife Conservation Society (US), Université de Sherbrooke (CA), Polar Research Institute of China (CN), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (US), Scripps Institution of Oceanography (US), University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (AT), Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (VE), Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (US), University of Washington (US), Brooklyn Botanic Garden (US), Caritas Hospital (IN), Institute for Systems Biology (US), University of California San Diego (US), Swansea University (GB), Eon Corporation (United States) (US), International Union for Conservation of Nature (United Kingdom) (GB), Futures Group (United States) (US), Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (US), Hôpital Charles-Le Moyne (CA), Ministry of Education (IR), Annual Reviews (US), International Union for Conservation of Nature (CH), Archipelago Technology (United Kingdom) (GB), Musée national d'histoire naturelle Luxembourg (LU), Shanghai Ocean University (CN), Arizona State University (US), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (SA), Leibniz Institute DSMZ – German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures (DE), University of Maine (US), Newcastle University (GB), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MX), Stanford University (US)
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Openalex Percentile: Top 68%
Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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