Why a New Journal on Bacteria?

As the inaugural editor-in-chief of the journal Bacteria (ISSN: 2674-1334) [1], I am extremely proud to tackle the challenge of bringing life to a new journal. I am dedicated to promoting the new developments and management of the challenging area of microbiology that was founded on isolation and description but is expanding into multi-omics and data analytics to define genotype and phenotype in more precise ways than ever before. These methods in combination with the challenges of understanding mechanism and persistence bring about an exciting interface in the history of bacteriology, especially in light of the ability to examine the microbiome. Microbiology has become more and more complex; however, in combination with broader access to cutting-edge research through high-quality publications that are circulated in a timely fashion, we are poised to push the expectations of the field. One may ask, with all the journals dedicated to microbiology, do we really need another journal? This was a critical question for me before accepting the role of editor in chief. Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that the answer is yes—in large part, due to the increasingly integrated nature of microbiology with other fields that focus on the microbial activity in fermentation, health, and the environment. The pace of research continues to dramatically increase and form a foundational intersection with adjacent fields. This accompanied with the explosion of science globally, the production of science that challenges the foundational paradigms of microbiology that underpin the pillars of science are emerging regularly. Through worldwide collaboration, new interdisciplinary discoveries are truly advancing our understanding of microbial physiology and genomics in a way that has never been seen, and is poised to explode to link functional phenotype with genotype and evolution. There is a need and a niche for Bacteria within the field of journals to rapidly publish high-quality papers that bring in many aspects of microbiology and advancing technology that impacts our world. It is essential in the advancement of research to rapidly publish innovative new discoveries that are quickly accessible globally. With remarkable research that is rapidly developing around the world, results need a vehicle to provide a establishing progressive advancements to build upon in various aspects of the bacterial condition and impact to their host niche. Publication and research standards must remain high; however, given the number of journals, even high-quality research struggles to be published in a timely fashion, thus hindering the progress of the field. This is one important reason why the journal Bacteria is being brought forward at this critical time in microbial science—a high-quality journal for high-quality research in a timely publication cadence. So, what do we plan for this new journal? Bacteria will have a wide range of interests in bacteriological research but will put an emphasis on broad microbial physiological areas along with its evolution from a genomics perspective. This will be broadly applicable to the microbe side of bioactivity and pathogenesis yet have an overlap with host responses that are pushed forward by microbial interactions. We seek to publish reviews, original research, and commentaries. I will be joined by an extraordinary international editorial board that will make every effort to solicit high-quality papers, from the discovery process, to impact, to complex interactions between bacteria and between a niche. Studies using novel strategies to define and understand these bacteriological settings and mechanisms are highly sought after for publication in the journal. Such publications will improve mechanistic understanding but point to genetics and genomics of disease, along with treatments and options to control microbial products. It is with great excitement that Bacteria will be seeking, receiving, reviewing, and publishing your work with the hope that it will help disseminate excellence and further improve microbiology research and innovation.