This is a conference on the sensory mechanisms by which microorganisms respond to their environments. It is being held at the annual meeting of the International Society of Chemical Ecology and has among its major goals the introduction of chemical ecologists to the sensory biology of microbes. This area is relatively unexplored by chemical ecologists. Many of the leading investigators in microbial sensory biology are speaking at the conference and it is expected that the ecologists and natural products chemists who makeup the majority of the Society of Chemical Ecology will begin to exchange ideas and, perhaps, enter into collaborations with their colleagues in this allied area. The ecology of microorganisms is important for a number of health, agricultural and industrial problems and bringing new expertise to bear on it can be expected to bring handsome long-term profits.
