Microbes dominate our planet, especially the Earth’s oceans. The distinguishing feature of microorganisms is their small size, usually defined as less than 200 micrometers (μm); they are all invisible to the naked eye. As a group, sea microbes are extremely diverse, and extremely versatile with respect to their abilities to make and eat food. All marine microbes are too small to swim against th...

Most of life’s diversity springs from microbial organisms, which carry out the lion’s share of the chemical transformations that drive the biosphere. It is therefore remarkable that the microbial world is so little recognized by the general public except in the context of disease and rot. Unfortunately, general biology textbooks at all educational levels do little to rectify this taxonomic snub...

Infectious diseases continue to plague the modern world. In the evolutionary arms race of pathogen emergence, the rules of engagement appear to have suddenly changed. Human activities have collided with nature to hasten the emergence of more potent pathogens from natural microbial populations. This is evident in recent infectious disease outbreaks, the events that led to their origin, and lesso...

This review deals with the duality of enterococci, which can be illustrated by their yin yang behaviour. The rough nature of this specific group of lactic acid bacteria promotes their dissemination in various environments where they significantly influence the outcome of a certain process. In the technological meaning, enterococci are leading microbes in fermentation processes of traditional fo...

Viruses of microbes encompass all viruses that infect archaea, bacteria, and single-celled eukaryotes, especially algae and protozoa [...].