A hundred spotlights on microbiology: how microorganisms shape our lives

Abstract

Viral, bacterial, fungal and protozoal biology is of cardi-nal importance for the evolutionary history of life, ecol-ogy, biotechnology and infectious diseases. Various mi-crobiological model systems have fundamentally con-tributed to the understanding of molecular and cellular processes, including the cell cycle, cell death, mitochon-drial biogenesis, vesicular fusion and autophagy, among many others. Microbial interactions within the envi-ronment have profound effects on many fields of biolo-gy, from ecological diversity to the highly complex and multifaceted impact of the microbiome on human health. Also, biotechnological innovation and corre-sponding industrial operations strongly depend on mi-crobial engineering. With this wide range of impact in mind, the peer-reviewed and open access journal Mi-crobial Cell was founded in 2014 and celebrates its 100th issue this month. Here, we briefly summarize how the vast diversity of microbiological subjects influences our personal and societal lives and shortly review the mile-stones achieved by Microbial Cell during the last years.