AMI and Soil Stars to lead new IUCN group protecting microbial biodiversity

Applied Microbiology International (AMI) will play a leading role in a new global effort to safeguard microbial biodiversity, following the creation of the Microbial Conservation Specialist Group (MCSG) under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The group marks a major milestone in the formal recognition of microbes within international conservation policy.

In June 2025, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) formally approved the creation of the Microbial Conservation Specialist Group (MCSG) under its Species Survival Commission (SSC). This is the first IUCN group devoted entirely to the protection and inclusion of microbial life within global biodiversity frameworks.

The MCSG will be co-chaired by AMI President Professor Jack A. Gilbert, of the University of California San Diego, and Professor Raquel Peixoto, President of the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) and winner of AMI’s 2023 Rachel Carson Award. Both leaders are part of Soil Stars, a global collaboration advancing microbial solutions for climate resilience and ecosystem restoration.

“Microbes underpin every ecosystem on Earth, yet they have long been absent from conservation thinking,” said Professor Gilbert. “This group will bring microbial science into the centre of biodiversity protection, where it belongs.”

The group’s mission is to safeguard and restore microbial diversity and function across Earth’s ecosystems, recognising microbes as the invisible foundation of life and a cornerstone of planetary and human health. It will also promote microbiome-based solutions for ecosystem restoration, climate resilience, and sustainable development.

The initiative grew out of the global working group ‘Conservation in a Microbial World’, held earlier this year in collaboration with the IUCN, ISME, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the J. Craig Venter Institute, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and other leading institutions. Those discussions laid the groundwork for a formal IUCN Specialist Group and a new era of microbial inclusion in global conservation policy.

The MCSG plans to:

• develop microbial conservation hotspot maps
• pilot Red List-style assessments tailored to microbial communities
• launch field demonstration projects showcasing microbiome-based restoration
• and integrate microbial perspectives into frameworks such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

A global call for members and collaborators will follow the group’s public announcement later this year.

“This is a turning point for microbial conservation,” said Professor Peixoto. “Protecting the unseen majority of life on Earth is essential to restoring ecosystems and building resilience for the future.”