Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is a continuation of our 2023 Special Issue "Beneficial Microorganisms and Antimicrobials".

Microorganisms and their role in life on the planet have always been the focus of scientists. The COVID-19 pandemic and the growing antibiotic resistance among us have put the search for new approaches in the fight against pathogens back on the agenda. Scientists are paying more and more attention to alternative antimicrobial substances and approaches for health prevention and prophylaxis. Various groups of antimicrobials, from new antibiotics and bacteriocin-like substances to recently discussed parabiotics, are being evaluated as an alternative or new class of biotherapeutics. They are produced by different groups of microorganisms—probiotics (pro-for and bio-life), such as lactic acid, Bifidobacteria, Actinomycetes, Cyanobacteria and yeast.

A new understanding of the beneficial contributions microbes and microbial communities provide in reducing disease transmission is also needed. In this regard, various modes of action of beneficial microorganisms and their role for the healthy homeostasis of humans and animals have been discovered. They are a part of understanding the role of the microbiome in health and disease prevention. The key is the knowledge of the complex metabolic processes and their regulation, the synthesis of active metabolites in situ and in vivo.

In parallel, the biotechnologies for obtaining antimicrobials or other biologically active substances are also part of the One Health strategy.

With this concept in mind, MDPI has created a Special Issue of the journal Microorganisms, titled “BENEFICIAL MICROORGANISMS AND ANTIMICROBIALS”.

Potential topics in this issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Antimicrobials and its producers: Useful and original approaches for characterization of antimicrobials;
• Exploration of the putative activity in the cascade of events controlling virulence factors of pathogens development of disease;
• New natural formulations, production study and delivery of microbial compounds with high stability and potential to support effective barrier mechanisms against pathogens;
• Probiotic—mode of action and benefits for human and animal health;
• New candidate for probiotics—selection and improvement;
• Postbiotics/parabiotics, other natural compounds—new horizon and promising bridge between pharmabiotics and bioterapeutics;
• Omics technologies (genomics, transcriptomic, proteomics and metabolomics) to understand functionality and beneficial role of microorganisms.

We kindly invite you to send your latest research results or review articles to this Special Issue, which will clarify the highly discussed beneficial bacteria and their antimicrobials, as well as in vitro characterization of the mechanisms using various experimental model systems to simulate in vivo their biological activity, in parallel with probiotic phenomena that are not well recognized. Underlying their safety and efficacy, high productivity based on innovative and reliable technologies allows for the advancement of new therapeutics, limits the invasion of pathogens and paves the way for new approaches in limiting the expansion of antibiotic resistance.

Prof. Dr. Svetla Trifonova Danova
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• antimicrobials
• beneficial bacteria
• probiotics
• parabiotics
• biological activity
• biotherapeuticals