Yale's Microbial Diversity Institute (MDI) comprises scientists who seek to understand the largely unknown microbial world. In the first MDI symposium at Yale's West Campus in October 2010, four speakers discussed their research in diverse fields within the microbial sciences. The highlights of the symposium are presented here along with an outlook on the future of the MDI.
Keywords: comparative genetics; gene expression; metagenomics; quorum sensing.