Archives of Microbiology - Farewell and Welcome - a new EiC for Archives of Microbiology

Dear Editors, Dear Authors, Dear Reviewers, 
The end of 2022 brought a change of the Editor in Chief of Archives of Microbiology. We were saying farewell to Prof. Erko Stackebrandt and welcome to Dr. Yusuf Akhter. More in an editorial that will be published soon (be on a lookout!).
We are extremely grateful to Erko for all his devotion to the journal, his expertise, kindness, patience, and humor. We wish him a great retirement and all the best to the new Team of Archives of Microbiology!

Finally, dear Editorial Team, please find below a farewell message from Erko.

Dear Colleagues, dear Editors, 
with this letter I say farewell to all of you, dedicated, enthusiastic, and reliable warden of microbiology, many of whom have been staying with the journal for many years. Without your assistance, the journal would not have reached its place in the ranking of microbiology journals as seen today. I have been with the journal almost for 20 years, seeing the decline of certain aspects of microbiology but more than that, witnessing the emergence of new trends, among others the increased description of prokaryotic species, the COVID-19 issue, the development of microbiome analysis in all different of niches, Nano microbiology as well as the increasing importance of microorganisms as pathogens and as benefactors in all different fields that improve the lives of humans.
Now I feel it is time to pass the baton to the new Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Yusuf Akhter, and I am confident in your continuous support of him and in your professional assistance to all authors and their scientific contributions. My thanks go also to the staff in the publication office, who were always friendly, helpful, and committed, and to the several publishers, I have been connected with over the years whom it has been always a pleasure to work with.
Without you, I would not have found the energy to stay with the journal for so long.

I wish you a bearable workload and many interesting topics to deal with.

With thanks
Erko Stackebrandt
Editor-in-Chief Emeritus