Dear Colleagues,

The human body is home to a large number of microorganisms belonging to various kingdoms. Under normal circumstances, the host surmounts an immune response that keeps pathogens at bay. However, when dysbiosis strikes under conditions unfavorable to the host, the pathogens overwhelm the otherwise remarkably effective host immune system to cause disease. As such, biofilm entities are tolerant to most antimicrobials, and antimicrobial resistance is a growing concern. Novel anti-virulent strategies are now emerging where microbes do not have a sufficient incentive to develop resistance mechanisms. On the other side of the spectrum, rapid killing approaches such as antimicrobial peptides are also being developed. An innovative approach is reprogramming host immune cells to surmount a profound attack to kill pathogens. Indeed, pathogens are no less smart either. They rapidly devise escape mechanisms such as internalization into host cells to thwart efforts by the host immune mechanisms. To deliver efficient therapeutics that will stand the test of time, understanding and acknowledging the intricate balance between infection and immunity are critical. In line with this philosophy, this Special Issue invites reviews and original research submissions from scientists in the areas of microbial (bacterial and fungal) biofilms, impact of biofilms on host immune and non-immune cells, model systems to study microbe–host interactions, novel antimicrobial therapeutics, immunomodulatory approaches and multi-functional therapeutics.

Dr. Prasanna Neelakantan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microbiology Research is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• biofilm
• infection
• macrophage
• keratinocyte
• host immune response
• antimicrobial
• immunomodulation
• anti-virulence