The power of microbes for global challenges

Microbes are essential to life, yet their vast diversity remains underappreciated despite their critical role in health, ecosystems, and industries like agriculture and food safety. Accurate microbial identification is key to addressing global challenges such as climate change, epidemics and food security. While matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry has revolutionised microbial detection in clinical microbiology, its use has been limited. Enter the EU-funded MALDIBANK project advancing a homonymous global, cloud-based database designed to expand the application of MALDI-TOF technology. By compiling 100 000 reference spectra and leveraging deep learning, it offers a comprehensive tool for microbial identification, surveillance and research, empowering scientists to tackle antimicrobial resistance, environmental monitoring and more.