The microbial world is vast and diverse. The Earth hosts over 10³⁰ microorganisms, representing the largest component of the planet's biomass. Microbes include bacteria, archaea, mollicutes, fungi, microalgae, viruses and protozoa---organisms with a wide range of morphologies and lifestyles. Microorganisms have colonized virtually every environment on Earth ranging from deep sea thermal vents, polar sea ice, desert rocks, guts of termites, roots of plants, to the human body. While microbes are often feared for the diseases they may cause, other microorganisms mediate the essential biogeochemical cycles of key elements that make our planet habitable.  Ancient lineages of microorganisms may hold the key to understanding the earliest history of life on Earth.

With the advent of genomics, a new era of scientific discovery was born.  Recognizing the broad importance of microbial genomics research, a 1999 interagency task group conducted an informal inventory of Federally supported research in this key area.  The inventory suggested that further investment in microbial genomics would increase our understanding of the microbial world, its diversity, and potential applications.  A coordinated interagency effort was needed to capitalize on the opportunities offered by genome-enabled microbial science.  In August, 2000, the Microbe Project Interagency Working Group was convened under the aegis of the Subcommittee on Biotechnology, of the Committee on Science, National Science and Technology Council.

The mission of the Microbe Project is "to maximize the opportunities offered by genome-enabled microbial science to benefit science and society, through coordinated interagency efforts to promote research, infrastructure development, education and outreach."  The Microbe Project fosters partnerships, coordination, and information exchange among Federal agencies in the area of genome-enabled microbial science.   This web site provides information about the Microbe Project and its member agencies, and serves as a portal to the Federal Government's interests and investment in genome-enabled microbial science.