Welcome

The meetings on Microbial Sulfur Metabolism are key events for advancing our understanding of the diverse and far-reaching roles sulfur-metabolizing microorganisms play in the environment ranging from marine sediments to human and animal-associated microbiomes, influencing ecosystem physiology, biogeochemistry, climate regulation, industrial applications, and human health.  These ancient microbes are key drivers of both the sulfur and carbon cycles, particularly in anoxic environments, influencing climate, ecosystem dynamics, and sustainable technologies such as bioremediation and bioenergy production. Advances in genome sequencing, metagenomics, and systems biology have uncovered a vast array of sulfur-related genes and metabolic pathways, yet integrating this data with fundamental biochemical and physiological knowledge remains a challenge in several areas. Recently, growing evidence also highlights the impact of gut microbial sulfur metabolism on human health, linking hydrogen sulfide and other sulfur metabolites to inflammatory diseases, colorectal cancer, and gut dysbiosis.

By bringing together experts from biogeochemistry, ecology, microbiology, molecular biology, environmental sciences, chemical biology, biomedical research and biotechnology this meeting will serve as a platform to bridge these fields and address knowledge gaps, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. Discussions will focus on emerging research directions, novel methodologies, and predictive models to enhance biotechnological applications and medical insights, translating fundamental discoveries into practical solutions for environmental, industrial, and health-related challenges.

This will be the 7th international meeting on Microbial Sulfur Metabolism. The first one took place in Muenster (DE) in 2006, and since then in Tomar (PT) in 2009, Noordwijkerhout (NL) in 2012, Helsingor (DK) in 2015, Vienna (AT) in 2018 and Antwerp (BE) in 2023.