The power of microbial life for the transformation towards a sustainable planet: key messages from the 2024 IUMS Congress in Florence, the city of the Renaissance

Luisa Borgianni; Gianluigi Cardinali; Cristina Cassetti; Duccio Cavalieri; Carlotta De Filippo; Rachele De Giuseppe; Roberto Di Leonardo; Irina S Druzhinina; William Paul Duprex; Dilfuza Egamberdieva; Uri Gophna; D İpek Kurtböke; Luisa Lanfranco; Diethard Mattanovich; Edward R B Moore; Nguyen K Nguyen; Jörg Overmann; Mariagrazia Pizza; Antonia Ricci; Eliora Z Ron; Amy Shurtleff; Lisa Stein; Ursula Theuretzbacher; Tone Tonjum; Marco Ventura; Iftach Yacoby; Paul Young; Andrey Yurkov; Rino Rappuoli

doi:10.1093/femsml/uqaf018

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The power of microbial life for the transformation towards a sustainable planet: key messages from the 2024 IUMS Congress in Florence, the city of the Renaissance

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The power of microbial life for the transformation towards a sustainable planet: key messages from the 2024 IUMS Congress in Florence, the city of the Renaissance

Luisa Borgianni, Gianluigi Cardinali, Cristina Cassetti, Duccio Cavalieri, Carlotta De Filippo, Rachele De Giuseppe, Roberto Di Leonardo, Irina S Druzhinina, William Paul Duprex, Dilfuza Egamberdieva, …

microLife, Vol.6, pp.1-9

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/femsml/uqaf018

PMCID: PMC12392887

PMID: 40896726

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Abstract

IUMS

sustainable planet

microbial life

microbial innovations

One Health

SDGs

The 2024 International Union of Microbiological Societies Congress was held in Florence, the city of Renaissance. The theme was to increase the awareness of the power of microbial life, recognizing that it can lead the transformation towards a sustainable planet. The meeting gathered over 1400 experts from more than 90 countries and focused on the transformative potential of microbiology in addressing global challenges and aligning microbial science with the Sustainable Development Goals. Six roundtable discussions explored the pivotal role of microbiology in mitigating climate change, preparing for pandemics, producing sustainable energy, promoting a One Health approach, understanding microbiome dynamics, and developing data infrastructure. The discussions revealed that microbes are still overlooked agents in sustainable solutions. Expert panellists at the roundtables discussed microbial innovations in hydrogen and biofuel production, conversion of greenhouse gases, biomanufacturing, and soil restoration, the role of microbiome in immune health, the importance of cross-kingdom interactions, and the integration of food, environmental, and microbiomes under the One Health framework. Panels stressed the need for equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics, and data sharing, especially in the face of antimicrobial resistance. The importance of global collaboration, data repositories, and regulatory alignment, was repeatedly emphasized. The congress invited calls for the formation of an international microbiology coalition, need for interdisciplinary partnerships, increased investment in microbial technologies, updating of regulatory frameworks, and integration of microbiome science into public health and environmental policy. Microorganisms are the oldest architects of nature, able to build a sustainable future for the planet.

Details

Title: The power of microbial life for the transformation towards a sustainable planet: key messages from the 2024 IUMS Congress in Florence, the city of the Renaissance
Authors: Luisa Borgianni - Sclavo Vaccines Association (Italy)
Gianluigi Cardinali - University of Perugia
Cristina Cassetti - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Duccio Cavalieri - University of Florence
Carlotta De Filippo - National Research Council
Rachele De Giuseppe - University of Pavia
Roberto Di Leonardo - Sapienza University of Rome
Irina S Druzhinina - Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
William Paul Duprex - University of Pittsburgh
Dilfuza Egamberdieva - Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers
Uri Gophna - Tel Aviv University
D İpek Kurtböke - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Luisa Lanfranco - University of Turin
Diethard Mattanovich - BOKU University
Edward R B Moore - Sahlgrenska University Hospital
Nguyen K Nguyen - American Society for Microbiology
Jörg Overmann - Leibniz Institute DSMZ – German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures
Mariagrazia Pizza - Imperial College London
Antonia Ricci - Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie
Eliora Z Ron - Tel Aviv University
Amy Shurtleff - Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations
Lisa Stein - University of Alberta
Ursula Theuretzbacher - Center for Anti-Infective Agents (Austria)
Tone Tonjum - University of Oslo
Marco Ventura - University of Parma
Iftach Yacoby - Tel Aviv University
Paul Young - The University of Queensland
Andrey Yurkov - Leibniz Institute DSMZ – German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures
Rino Rappuoli (Corresponding Author) - FBS-IT
Publication details: microLife, Vol.6, pp.1-9
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Date published: 2025
DOI: 10.1093/femsml/uqaf018
ISSN: 2633-6693
PMID: 40896726; PMC12392887
Copyright note: © The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of FEMS. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints.
Organisation Unit: School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991155617602621
Output Type: Journal article

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