Editorial

This issue of Microbiology Australia is a special one that is composed of articles from Early Career Researchers (ECRs) from The Australian Society for Microbiology (ASM). Following an invitation for expressions of interest, ten ECRs were invited by the Editorial Board, to submit full articles. These peer reviewed publications showcase some of the exciting and diverse breaking research underway in microbiology labs of ASM members.

Articles include a range important issues of medical microbiology. Sicilia Perumalsamy and Tom Riley analyse paediatric Clostridium difficile infections and discuss the current challenges. This is followed by an article on cytotoxic factor for antimicrobial resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by Dinesh Subedi, Ajay Kumar Vijay, Scott Rice and Mark Willcox. Katharina Richter provides an overview on treatments against antibiotic-resistant bacteria/biofilms and their translation from bench to bedside.

The prospects of discovery of new antibiotics for treatments of infectious diseases are discussed by Dane Lyddiard and Ben Greatrex who write about how plants are enlisted in the battle for new antibacterial compounds, while Rachael Lappan and Christopher Peacock focus on future probiotic candidates for upper respiratory tract infections using Corynebacterium and Dolosigranulum.

Vaccines are also relevant. Laurence Don Wai Luu’s article focuses on the Australian Bordetella pertussis story and how the pathogen has adapted to vaccination.

Much research is also going into environmental and industrial microbiology. Lisa Stinson, Jeffrey Keelan and Matthew Payne report on the pitfalls and considerations of profiling bacterial communities in low biomass samples. Larissa Buedenbender, Anthony R Carroll and D İpek Kurtböke demonstrate how co-cultivation can induce chemical diversity via 2D NMR fingerprints. Alan Levett, Emma J Gagen and Gordon Southam show how microorganisms offer inspiration for mine remediation and waste stabilisation.

The final article, by Liang Wang and Michael J Wise, provides an updated view on bacterial glycogen structure and how it affects microbial physiology.

The Editorial Board thanks The Australian Society for Microbiology for their support in continuing to ensure that Microbiology Australia is freely available worldwide. From the analysis of its usage we know it is well utilised and is sought around the globe. Over the recent years we worked towards increasing its usage by obtaining more listings in databases including Scopus and Web of Science. This is a happening as rapidly as possible. From next year Microbiology Australia will have a new journal platform (hosted by our publisher, CSIRO Publishing) that includes the metrics on Microbiology Australia and on individual articles.

The membership of the Editorial Board inevitably changes. We welcome new members Prue Bramwell, Cheryl Power and Tom Ross, and we thank departing members, Narelle Fegan and Erin Shanahan, for their past service to our Editorial Board.

From the Editorial Board of Microbiology Australia:

İpek Kurtböke (Chair), Dena Lyras (ASM President), Ian Macreadie (Editor-in-Chief), Ross Barnard, Mary Barton, Linda Blackall, Prue Bramwell, Rebecca LeBard, Gary Lum, Sam Manna, Wieland Meyer, Chris Owens, Cheryl Power, William Rawlinson, Tom Ross, Paul Selleck, David Smith and Helen Smith.