Sometimes dreams do come true – I am finally getting a chance to visit New Zealand, thanks to my new role as co-Vice-Chair of the Ethics, Conservation and Management Planning Working Group (other Co-Vice Chair is Louis-Patrick Haraoui) of the new Microbial Conservation Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC MCSG ECMP). While the number of words in that group’s formal name implies that it’s going to take a long time to accomplish anything, the new MCSG group is actually a nimble collaboration of researchers and policy makers who are working on conserving the microbial communities that allow us to thrive on this planet.

Created in 2025 and led by Drs. Jack Gilbert and Raquel Peixoto, the MCSG is the first IUCN body dedicated to protecting all microbial ecosystems, including those which are at risk or already losing microbial diversity because of degradation and human activities, and those ecosystems where human activities have not yell fully changed the microbial communities.  The group is working to integrate microbial biodiversity into mainstream conservation frameworks by developing new tools for assessment, advancing policy inclusion, coordinating action across ecosystems, and developing strategies to bring attention to the need to consider microbes in the health of organisms and ecosystems.

This August, the global microbial ecology community is converging on Auckland, New Zealand, for the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) conference. You might remember my last visit two years ago to the ISME conference in Cape Town, South Africa, when I was fortunate enough to have the federal funding to bring much of my lab group. New Zealand hosts stunning landscapes, and not just because of the geography: New Zealand is one of the global leaders in environmental, animal, and plant conservation thanks to its deeply rooted Indigenous conservation practices. Auckland will provide the perfect backdrop for discussing the microscopic worlds that keep our planet alive. Attending ISME is always a highlight for me, and I’m excited to hear about wild animal microbiomes, and generally about the effects of environments on host microbiomes while I’m there.

Beyond the main conference sessions, the highlight of this trip will be participating in the meetings of the Microbial Conservation Specialist Group. While historic conservation efforts were constrained by resources and public attention to focus on visible and adorable wildlife like mammals and birds, protecting microbial diversity is just as critical for maintaining ecosystem stability and resilience. Engaging with this specialist group offers a vital platform to advocate for the inclusion of fungi, bacteria, and archaea in global conservation policies and frameworks. This journey promises to be a powerful blend of cutting-edge science and meaningful advocacy, and I cannot wait to bring these insights back to the research collaborations I have developed over the past few years on Microbiome Stewardship, how to go about it, and the practicality of protecting microbes at different scales.

Opportunities to learn more about the MCSG at ISME

1. Please visit the MCSG website for more information, and if you are at ISME20, reach visit the Applied Microbiology International publications display table to learn more and join an information session.
2. Subscribe to the MCSG newsletter here.
3. If you will be attending ISME20 and would like to meet with me for coffee to learn more about the MCSG group, please email me at sue.ishaq@maine.edu!

Opportunities to learn more about the Microbes and Social Equity working group ISME

Of course, I will also be representing the MSE group at ISME. While I did not have time to prepare a formal event there, if you are part of MSE and would like to meet for coffee, or if you are curious about the group and would like to learn more (also while drinking coffee), please let me know at sue.ishaq@maine.edu!

IUCN Microbe Specialist Group’s recent publications

Gilbert, J., Scholz, A., Dominguez-Bello, M.G., Korsten, L., Berg, G., Singh, B., Boetius, A., Wang, F., Greening, C., Wrighton, K., Bordenstein, S., Jansson, J., Lennon, J., Souza, V., Allard, S.M., Thomas, T., Cowan, D., Crowther, T., Nguyen, N., Harper, L., Haraoui, L-P., Ishaq, S., McFall-Ngai, M., Redford, K.H., Peixoto, R. 2025. Safeguarding Microbial Biodiversity: Microbial Conservation Specialist Group (MCSG) within the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Editorial Published in multiple journals simultaneously, including mSystems, Sustainable Microbiology, the ISME Journal, and FEMS Microbial Ecology.

Gilbert, J., Peioto, R., Scholz, A., Dominguez-Bello, M.G., Korsten, L., Berg, G., Singh, B., Boetius, A., Wang, F., Greening, C., Wrighton, K., Bordenstein, S., Jansson, J., Lennon, J., Souza, V., Thomas, T., Cowan, D., Crowther, T., Nguyen, N., Harper, L., Haraoui, L-P., Ishaq, S., Redford, K. 2025. Launching the IUCN Microbial Conservation Specialist Group as a global safeguard for microbial biodiversity. Nature Microbiology 10:2359–2360. (correspondence)