General information

Abstracts will be published in the ISME19 smartphone and web application ("proceedings") and in an abstract book on USB, handed out to every delegate when they collect their badge.

Required affirmation:
In order to have an abstract accepted for ISME19, all presenters must confirm compliance with the following:

• Each author must have contributed sufficiently to the intellectual content of the submission. The corresponding author should list all authors and their contributions to the work. By submitting the abstract, the corresponding author confirms that he or she has had full access to the data in the study and final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication.
• Authors understand that the ISME will hold the copyright for the proceedings and its contents.
• Authors understand that the copyright of the compilation of materials in the proceedings is not the same as the copyright of an individual item of material included in the proceedings.
• Authors understand that authors are encouraged to include copyright notices as appropriate on all the materials submitted to the organizers for publication.
• Authors understand that ISME takes no responsibility for registering any copyright and advise authors to take all appropriate steps to do so.
• Authors affirm that their contribution contains no matter that is defamatory or is otherwise unlawful or invades individual privacy, or infringes on any proprietary right or statutory copyright.
• Authors grant ISME copyright for publication of material they may provide for inclusion in the proceedings for the conference.
• The copyright consists of any and all rights allowed by the copyright laws of all countries. Authors understand that the proceedings, including their contribution, will be made available in printed and/or electronic form to the attendees of the conference.
• Authors understand that the information contained in their submitted abstract may be shared with third-party processors when we do not have the in-house capacity required for certain functions (such as graphic design or printing).
• Authors affirm that their contribution is their own original or that they have automatically obtained permission from the copyright holder ISME if the initial presenting source is mentioned, f.e. Presented at ISME19 in Cape Town, South Africa, in August 2024.
• In conclusion, submitting authors warrant that they are the sole author(s) of the work and that all co-authors have participated in, agree with the content and conclusions of the work, and that the work is original and does not infringe any copyright.
• All authors authorize the content of their abstract to be published in the abstract book, which will be published in the ISME19 smartphone application and in the ISME19 web application for the consideration of ISME19 delegates (via secure login) and digitally via USB. By submitting your abstract, you are allowing us to publish your abstract in said applications. Our web application will be online from June onwards, and the smartphone application will be available from August onwards. If, for any reason, you want to delay publication of your abstract, please contact us.
• Similarly, if you wish to withdraw your abstract, please contact us.
• Authors are restricted to presenting only one poster during the meeting. Similarly, if an abstract is selected for oral presentation, an additional poster presentation for the same abstract is not allowed. 
• Presenting authors of accepted abstracts guarantee their attendance at ISME19.
• Any person who makes a presentation or is a co-author of work presented at ISME19 is required to disclose any financial interest or other relationship (grant, research support, consultancy etc) that individual may have with the manufacturers of any commercial products discussed in the presentation. Authors who have a possible conflict of interest will be denoted in the meeting abstract book.
• All abstracts must be typed in English.
• Please proofread your abstract carefully to avoid errors before submission. No proof pages will be sent to authors.

Privacy Policy
ISME has taken measure to assure that we keep your personal information safe. We only ask your personal data to be able to communicate with you, in case of inquiries, and to keep you up to date with regard to the status of your abstract. We will not share any information with another party. We are using an online platform to collect data on your abstract via a third party software provider, Eventure. ISME will process the abstracts, assign the reviewing process and handle the final program via this system.  
Besides your personal data, we only collect information for the purpose of listing the abstract information associated with your submission. ISME requires the topic your abstract will be submitted in, title, abstract, and authors (first name, last name, affiliation, country). Information will be stored for as long as the smartphone application will be live.

Abstracts review and disposition
All abstracts submitted to ISME19 will be reviewed by the convenors of the sessions and the ISME Program Committee. The reviewers will determine if the abstract merits inclusion in the program and, if accepted, will schedule the abstract in the appropriate session for the meeting. The reviewers also determine if the abstract is deemed appropriate for either oral presentation, poster pitch or poster presentation. This means an author's preferred presentation does not guarantee they will be given said presentation. Furthermore, an abstract may be rejected. This might be for one or more of the following reasons:
• Not appropriate for this meeting
• No background or hypothesis provided
• Insufficient data or absence of conclusion
• Poorly written
• Apparent duplication to another abstract submitted for the meeting

Important dates and reviewing process
Abstract submission opened on 8 December 2024 and closed at midnight 23 - 24 February 2024 (GMT). All submitted abstracts will then be reviewed by the convenors of the session. The ISME19 Organizing Committee will then make the final decisions on the oral or poster selections. Results on the allocation of oral, poster, or poster pitch presentation will be announced in the week of 25 March 2024. 
The abstract submission system will remain open during this reviewing process and beyond for submission of abstracts for the consideration of poster presentations. Results on these submissions will be at the earliest convenience. On 12 April 2024 the system will close for all submissions. 
We require each presenting author to have registered for the conference at the end of the Early Bird Registration period, i.e. 26 April 2024. Non-registered authors may risk removal from the program.