TY - JOUR
T1 - Launching the IUCN Microbial Conservation Specialist Group as a global safeguard for microbial biodiversity
AU - Gilbert, Jack A.
AU - Peixoto, Raquel S.
AU - Scholz, Amber Hartman
AU - Dominguez Bello, Maria Gloria
AU - Korsten, Lise
AU - Berg, Gabriele
AU - Singh, Brajesh
AU - Boetius, Antje
AU - Wang, Fengping
AU - Greening, Chris
AU - Wrighton, Kelly
AU - Bordenstein, Seth
AU - Jansson, Janet K.
AU - Lennon, Jay T.
AU - Souza, Valeria
AU - Thomas, Torsten
AU - Cowan, Don
AU - Crowther, Thomas W.
AU - Nguyen, Nguyen
AU - Harper, Lucy
AU - Haraoui, Louis Patrick
AU - Ishaq, Suzanne L.
AU - Redford, Kent
PY - 2025/10
Y1 - 2025/10
N2 - Despite its importance, microbial life is largely absent from global conservation frameworks. Launched in July 2025, the Microbial Conservation Specialist Group (MCSG) was established as a Species Survival Commission (SSC) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The IUCN is the world’s leading authority in environmental science and policy, renowned for shaping conservation priorities across governments, non-governmental organizations and international treaties. The MCSG convenes a coalition of microbiologists, ecologists, traditional knowledge experts and conservation leaders to develop and advocate for conservation tools, strategies and policies that explicitly integrate micro-biology into global biodiversity governance. Despite the importance of microorganisms for ecosystem function, their role has been seen as too abstract or complex to integrate into policy. Elevating microbial perspectives within global conservation has required over-coming a deep-rooted tendency to overlook the invisible.
AB - Despite its importance, microbial life is largely absent from global conservation frameworks. Launched in July 2025, the Microbial Conservation Specialist Group (MCSG) was established as a Species Survival Commission (SSC) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The IUCN is the world’s leading authority in environmental science and policy, renowned for shaping conservation priorities across governments, non-governmental organizations and international treaties. The MCSG convenes a coalition of microbiologists, ecologists, traditional knowledge experts and conservation leaders to develop and advocate for conservation tools, strategies and policies that explicitly integrate micro-biology into global biodiversity governance. Despite the importance of microorganisms for ecosystem function, their role has been seen as too abstract or complex to integrate into policy. Elevating microbial perspectives within global conservation has required over-coming a deep-rooted tendency to overlook the invisible.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105017589746
UR - https://go.openathens.net/redirector/westernsydney.edu.au?url=https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-025-02113-5
U2 - 10.1038/s41564-025-02113-5
DO - 10.1038/s41564-025-02113-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 40940565
AN - SCOPUS:105017589746
SN - 2058-5276
VL - 10
SP - 2359
EP - 2360
JO - Nature Microbiology
JF - Nature Microbiology
IS - 10
ER -