Meeting report of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Symposium 'Viruses of Microbes II', Brussels, July 2012.

Abstract : The Symposium aimed to bring together the bacterial virus and lower eukaryotic virus researchers, which is also the core aim for the establishment of the “International Society for Viruses of Microorganisms” (ISVM, http://www.isvm.org, chair Markus Weinbauer (CNRS, France)), which held its first general assembly. Also linked to the conference, the PHAGE non-profit organization (Phage for Human Application Group Europe, http://www.p-h-a-g-e.org/) advocates the potential use of phage therapy for human applications, and a special workshop was dedicated to this theme, reported elsewhere in this issue.