Microbes and their interactions are focus of major international meeting

One of the academic world’s largest international meetings addressing topics in microbial ecology, the 19th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology (ISME), will take place in Cape Town, South Africa in August.

More than 1,500 scientists from over 50 countries worldwide will convene at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CT-ICC) from 18 to 23 August 2024. This will be the first time that this prestigious meeting is held on the African continent.

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Prof. Thulani Makhalanyane, chair of the ISME organising committee and professor of microbiology at Stellenbosch University (SU), says attending this meeting as a PhD student was instrumental in shaping his science: “It provides an excellent opportunity to interact with global leaders in the field of microbial ecology. Holding this meeting in Cape Town will hopefully provide similar opportunities for other young academics and provide a basis for showcasing microbiome research in Africa.”

Ecosystem services

He says microbial communities – including bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses – drive important ecosystem services that are conducive to the environment and to human and animal health: “The field of microbial ecology aims to understand the relationship between microorganisms and their environment. Although advances in genomic sequencing have provided remarkable insights regarding the extent of microbial diversity, we lack important mechanistic insights,” he explains.

For example, microbial ecologists focused on human health have shown the profound importance of the microbiome in nutrient acquisition and growth.

Public outreach

In his capacity as director of the Ambassador Programme of the International Society for Microbial Ecology, Makhalanyane is also organising a public outreach event on “Microbes and Climate Change” at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden on Wednesday 21 August. During this event, the public will have the opportunity to engage with internationally renowned researchers on climate change and microbial ecosystems.

Makhalanyane says they hope to encourage people to become stewards of the microbes in their environments – from microbial communities in the soil and oceans to your own gut microbiome. Click here for more information and to register.

Several leading microbiome scientists will feature as plenary speakers during the symposium. This includes Prof. Rob Knight from the University of California San Diego and recently featured in the hit Netflix documentary “Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut”; Prof. Jillian Banfield, from the University of Berkeley and known for her pioneering work and the discovery of CRISPR-Cas9; as well as Prof. Tulio de Oliveira from SU’s Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI).