Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology

The ISME Journal will be available in print and online from May 2007.

"NPG believes that the time is now right to launch a journal exclusively devoted to microbial ecology.

"The launch celebrates our mission to provide high-quality information to the global scientific community and to work with the leading international societies.

"We look forward to a strong future relationship to take the journal forward," said Annette Thomas, managing director of NPG.

The ISME Journal will be expressly dedicated to advancing highly significant research in the expanding field of microbial ecology.

Microbial ecology is pivotal to our understanding of the world's diverse natural and manipulated ecosystems, and research in microbial ecology has been stimulated by this broader recognition that microbial ecology is directly relevant to a wide range of environmental, health and industrial issues.

The journal will offer a dynamic forum for microbial ecology by publishing original research, poignant and up-to-date reviews, commentaries and short communications.

The ISME Journal adds to NPG's strength in the field of microbial ecology, through the publication of Nature Reviews Microbiology.

"The launch of The ISME Journal is a major step forward in the development of the field of microbial ecology and rightly reflects the growing importance of the subject.

"The ISME Executive is proud to enter this partnership with Nature Publishing" said Professor Hilary Lappin-Scott, ISME president (University of Exeter, UK).

The editorial team will be led by Mark Bailey (Oxford), John Heidelberg (South California) and George Kowalchuck (Netherlands), and supported by an outstanding international editorial board.