The 4th meeting of the Integrative/Quantitative Microbial Ecology Initiative was held on 17th October 2024 at Wageningen University, gathering leading researchers to discuss key topics in microbial ecology such as soil health, microbial interactions, and community dynamics. The event, co-sponsored by the Centre for Living Technologies, WUR, NWO, and the UNLOCK facility, provided a platform for advancing collaboration and innovation in this vital field.

The event featured insightful presentations, starting with Gerlinde de Deyn (Wageningen University), who highlighted the important connections between soil health, soil microbes, and human health. Ivica Dimkic (University of Belgrade) followed with a discussion on friendly microbes as biofertilizers for sustainable agriculture, while Ivette Parera Olm (WUR/CLT) presented her research on microbial co-cultures in syngas fermentation.

Later talks included Shai Slomka de Oliveira (University of Amsterdam) on protists’ responses to ocean acidification, Lubos Polerecky (Utrecht University) on microbial metabolism at the single-cell level, and Anna Alekseeva (WUR) on microbial community dynamics. Guy Schleyer (NIOZ) delved into metabolic crosstalk between bacteria and diatoms, while Thomas Hackl (University of Groningen) explored coinfection dynamics in protist-virus-virophage systems. The session wrapped up with Hauke Smidt (WUR/UNLOCK) discussing microbiomes and the roles of individual strains.

The day concluded with a tour of the UNLOCK facility and networking over drinks. The event was a resounding success, fostering collaboration and advancing insights in microbial ecology. We look forward to the next meeting of this dynamic initiative!