Mission

Microbial Bioactives is dedicated to advancing our understanding of bioactive compounds produced by microorganisms and their applications in health, agriculture and industry. We provide an international, peer-reviewed platform for discoveries that illuminate how microbes and their metabolites influence natural and engineered ecosystems, drive innovations in biotechnology, and inspire next-generation therapeutics.

Scope

What we publish

We welcome original research, reviews and perspectives that explore microbial bioactive molecules and the biology that underpins them. Studies should demonstrate a clear connection to microbial systems or microbial products and contribute to our understanding of:

• Discovery and characterization of bioactive compounds – isolation, structural elucidation and biosynthetic pathways of antimicrobial agents, enzymes, metabolites and other biologically active molecules derived from bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses.
• Mechanisms and modes of action – molecular and cellular processes governing the production, regulation and activity of microbial bioactives, including resistance mechanisms and host responses.
• Therapeutic and industrial applications – development of microbial bioactives as drugs, probiotics, agrochemicals, biocontrol agents or components of industrial bioprocesses.
• Microbe–host and microbe–environment interactions – ecological and evolutionary dynamics of bioactive producers within communities, including microbiome-mediated effects on plant, animal and human health.
• Genetics, genomics and systems biology of bioactive production – omics-based insights, synthetic biology and computational approaches that reveal biosynthetic potential or enable rational design of new compounds.
• Translational and interdisciplinary research – studies at the interface of microbiology, chemistry, medicine, agriculture and environmental science that further the development and deployment of microbial bioactives.

Out of scope

Manuscripts that lack a defined microbial component or do not directly address bioactive compounds—for example, purely clinical trials, descriptive taxonomic reports, or studies focusing solely on macroorganisms without microbial interaction—are not suitable for this journal.

Section alignment

Our content is organized into a concise set of sections to help authors and readers find the right home for their work:

1. Microbial Bioactives & Therapeutics – all aspects of bioactive discovery, drug development and therapeutic applications.
2. Clinical & Public Health Microbiology – microbial diagnostics, pathogenesis and microbiome-based interventions impacting human and animal health.
3. Environmental & Agricultural Microbiology – roles of microbes and bioactives in soils, plants, water and agroecosystems.
4. Microbial Ecology & Host Interactions – community dynamics, symbioses and microbiome–host relationships.
5. Microbial Physiology, Genetics & Systems Biology – fundamental and systems-level studies illuminating pathways and regulation of bioactive production.
6. Applied & Industrial Microbiology – bioprocessing, biotechnology and synthetic approaches using microbial bioactives.