The 14th National Academic Symposium on Microbial Resources was held in Weihai, Shandong from July 5 to 9, 2023. The event was jointly organized by the Committee of Microbial Resources （CMR）of the Chinese Society for Microbiology (CSM), Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning of China Agricultural Academy of Sciences (IARRP-CAAS), Shandong University, and Shandong Society for Microbiology. It was co-hosted by the College of Marine Sciences at Shandong University (Weihai), the State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, and the CAAS-CIAT Joint Laboratory in Advanced Technologies for Sustainable Agriculture.

The honorary chairman of the CSM, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Professor DENG Zixin from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, as well as the academician of the European Academy of Sciences, Professor ZHANG Youming from Shandong University gave keynote speeches. Professor ZHAO Guoping, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Molecular Plant Science Excellence Innovation Center, also attended the conference to provide guidance and moderate the exchange. Nearly 600 representatives from 214 units in 30 provinces attended the meeting.

The opening ceremony of the conference was presided over by Dr. RUAN Zhiyong, the director of the CMR-CSM. Professor LI Yuezhong, vice chairman of the CSM, delivered a congratulatory message on behalf of the society, analyzing the current situation of microbial resource research in China and sharing research experiences. Vice Director YI Kekai from the IARRP-CAAS, Director TAN Yuanguo from the Weihai Science and Technology Bureau, and Vice President LIU Hai from Shandong University (Weihai) delivered speeches, expressing the hope that experts and representatives  would strengthen communication, actively provide suggestions, and contribute wisdom and strength to the innovative development of microbial resources, microbial  industry, and related sectors in China.

The keynote speech of the conference was hosted by Professor LI Yuezhong. Academician DENG Zixin gave a report titled "The Disruptive Innovation Path of Microbial Metabolism Technology and Industry.” He pointed out that microbial resources have tremendous diversity and that the discovery of new natural drugs is far from exhausted. The industrial energy released by microbial metabolism is just the tip of the iceberg of their metabolic potential. A large number of hidden gene clusters, known as "dark matter", are being activated or awakened. The integration of genomics big data, efficient chassis, automation, high-throughput, and AI technology will pave the way for intelligent screening and innovation. Professor ZhANG Youming gave a report titled "Targeted Treatment of Tumors Using Intestinal Probiotics", pointing out that the development of intestinal probiotic resources has broad application prospects. Bacterial therapy, as a new method for treating tumors, has high targeting specificity. Whether used alone or in combination with traditional tumor therapies, it has shown positive effects on tumor recurrence and inhibition of metastasis.

Prof.MA Juncai from the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof. DAI Yucheng from Beijing Forestry University, Prof. LI Wenjun from Sun Yat-sen University, Prof. YAO Su from China Research Institute of Food Fermentation Industry, Prof. DENG Fei from Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof. HE Mingxiong from Chengdu Biogas Science Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Prof. DU Zongjun from Shandong University (Weihai), and 17 other renowned scholars gave plenary reports. Researchers including Prof.ZHANG Xiaoxia from the IIARRP-CAAS, Assoc. Prof. WANG Chune  from China National Institute of Food and Drug Control, Prof.YANG Chenghuai from China Institute of Veterinary Drug Control, Prof. LI Yong from the Chinese Academy of Forestry, Prof. Fang Peng from Wuhan University, Prof. CHEN Bo from Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration, and Prof. WAN Chuanxing from Tarim University, gave presentations on topics such as microbial resource bank construction and operation, microbial resource mining and systematics, microbial-host interactions, fungal resource diversity and function mining, and microbial resource application technology. The conference also had a poster exhibition, where 10 graduate students including MA Qingyun from Huazhong Agricultural University received the award for outstanding posters.

During the conference, the CMR-CSM held a plenary meeting chaired by the secretary of the Committee, Prof. ZhANG Xiaoxia. Dr. RUAN Zhiyong delivered an annual work report, which was reviewed by the committee members. After discussions, the committee decided that the 15th National Academic Symposium on Microbial Resources, to be held in 2024 in Chengdu, will be jointly organized by the Chengdu Biogas Science Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and other institutions.