FEMS Microbiology Letters
Publish a focused, original finding in an established journal. Get constructive peer review and accessible publishing options.
The flagship journal in the FEMS portfolio, FEMS Microbiology Letters provides a home for short, novel microbiology studies. With peer review from scientists invested in helping authors succeed, researchers can refine their work within a supportive, community-driven network. From early-career scientists publishing their first study to experienced researchers mentoring the next generation, FEMS Microbiology Letters provides a trusted platform to share research, learn the ins and outs of publishing, and help shape the future of microbiology.
Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Clare Taylor, School of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK
Highlights: Free to publish | Double-anonymised peer review | Focused on researcher development
- Why choose FEMS Microbiology Letters ?
- Is your research the right fit?
- Recent highlights
- Quick facts
- Editorial leadership
- Publish with purpose. Publish with FEMS
Why choose FEMS Microbiology Letters?
✅ Visibility for concise research papers
Publish a clear scientific story without requiring a full-length manuscript.
✅ Author-centric and fair by design
Benefit from a double-anonymised peer review process & opportunities to engage in professional development initiatives.
✅ Free to publish
Publish good science without financial barriers.
Is your research the right fit?
Great fit if your manuscript:
- Is ready to publish as a short-format research paper
- Has focused findings from a larger project
- Has a clear conclusion
- Is original (new insight, new angle, or advances the field)
- Delivers functional, ecological, mechanistic, or evolutionary insight
- Is supported by robust, multi-layered evidence, including genomic, phenotypic, experimental, or ecological validation
- Has strong analytical depth, clear hypothesis-driven design, and rigorous statistical interpretation
What does the journal cover?
Clinical & Veterinary Clinical Microbiology
→ Outbreak investigations, clinical diagnostics, case reports.
Physiology, Biochemistry & Genetics
→ Comparative or functional genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics; physiology and biochemistry of microorganisms.
Food Microbiology
→ Fermentation, food safety, spoilage, probiotics, foodborne pathogens.
Biotechnology & Synthetic Biology
→ Microbes doing useful work (valorisation, waste degradation, engineered strains).
Pathogens & Pathogenicity
→ Mechanisms of disease, virulence, host–pathogen interactions.
Environmental Microbiology & Microbial Ecology
→ Microbiomes, meta-omics, ecosystem-level community analysis.
Antimicrobial Agents
→ Advances in antimicrobial agents and microbial responses to antimicrobial exposure, reflecting the One Health paradigm.
Professional Development
→ Submissions that further debate and progression in the field (publishing, careers, training, education, and more).
Taxonomy, Systematics & Evolutionary Microbiology
→ Proposal of novel taxa of general interest; studies in evolutionary microbiology and biodiversity.
Recent highlights
Thematic issue:
Learning together for the future
This thematic issue explores how microbiologists are building literacy through media, community engagement, and beyond.
2025 Article award winner:
Advancing knowledge on the biogeography of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to support Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land
Stewart et al. reveal critical global data gaps in AM fungal biogeography, informing efforts to sustain terrestrial ecosystems.
Learn more
Uncovering the hidden threat: WHO fungal priority pathogens in Indonesia—a systematic review
Review mapping the diversity and distribution of WHO priority fungal pathogens in Indonesia, identifying major surveillance gaps and informing a stronger One Health response
Quick Facts
- Publishing model: Free to publish, with paid open access options available
- Article types: Research letters, Research articles, Clinical case reports, Mini Reviews, Reviews, Current Opinion, Perspective, and Commentary, Letters to the Editor
- Review Process: To improve equity of publishing in FEMS Microbiology Letters, and to reduce unconscious biases, the journal utilizes a double-anonymised peer review workflow. Identity of authors will be concealed throughout the peer review process, allowing reviewers to focus on the scientific content of papers over other factors.
Meet the editorial leadership
Editor-in-Chief Prof. Clare Taylor on FEMS Microbiology Letters
Editors Jan Dieter Jahn and Matthias Steiger on Society Publishing
Publish with purpose. Publish with FEMS.
The FEMS journal portfolio spans the full spectrum of microbiology, publishing rigorous, society-backed research from fundamental discovery to real-world application.
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Open access is key to supporting the FEMS mission of disseminating high quality research as widely as possible: when high quality, peer reviewed sound science is open access, anyone, anywhere in the world with an internet connection, can read it. All but one of the not-for-profit FEMS journals are fully open access (OA), with one journal, FEMS Microbiology Letters, offering free-to-publish and OA options.
