Over 230 researchers from all over the world gathered last week at the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) in Amsterdam to attend the 5th Plant Microbiome Symposium, organised by MiCRop. The symposium provided excellent opportunities to share knowledge through oral lectures, poster presentations, and networking. Hence, the MiCRop organising committee offered five full scholarships to students from Brazil, India (2x), China and Ecuador. The symposium was perceived as a great success and attendees praised the organisation of the event: "Everything, from the structure to the location, was organised so well. We can learn a lot from this."

The week started off with the Welcome Reception on Monday 17 June. Those who participated, around 120 people, could already fetch their badge and coins, grab a drink and meet other attendees who showed up today. The next day started off the programme with sessions 1 and 2, "Plant-microbiome interactions for sustainable agriculture" and "Plant-microbiome communication and assembly" respectively. Afterwards, there was a poster session to finish off the second day. On Wednesday 19 June, the scientific programme was limited to the morning with session 3 "Technological advances and translation" and an Early Career Market where attendees could discover future career opportunities at various universities and enterprises. The afternoon and evening was filled with a social programme, where all participants were picked up by boat for a cruise along the Amsterdam canals and brought to NDSM-wharf for a pleasant dinner at restaurant Pllek. The day after saw another scientifically-loaded day with session 4 and 5, "Transfer to and importance of the plant microbiome for other organisms" and "Plant microbial community ecology" respectively, happening throughout the day. The scientific part was ended with the final poster session, but not before taking a group picture with all attendees of the conference (missing: Wenyi Jia who took this photo). In the evening, the last social event of the conference took place in the form of a Royal Tropical Dinner hosted by the KIT - where all participants could enjoy a sizeable BBQ-style buffet. The last day, Friday 21 June, saw the final session 6, "Microbiome-mediated effects on plant physiology and stress tolerance", complete this symposium's programme. After some final words from Harro Bouwmeester and everyone saying their final goodbyes, the 5th Plant Microbiome Symposium came to an end.

The Plant Microbiome Symposia are a series of conferences centered around the plant microbiome, held in various places of the world. The last two editions for example occurred in Dundee, Scotland (2022) and Quito, Ecuador (2023). At this 5th edition in Amsterdam, the Netherlands (2024), the location for the next event was revealed. The 6th Plant Microbiome Symposium will be held somewhere around October 2025 in Málaga, Spain. On behalf of the 5th Plant Microbiome Symposium Organizing Committee, we hope to see you there next year!

by Julian Voet