Industrial useful microbes: our slaves or our friends?

This tribute to Prof. Arnold L. Demain illustrates his worldwide impact over several decades on the field of industrial microbiology and biotechnology; his name became synonymous with the field ! His influential publications, inspiring lectures and national and international accolades are numerous. He mentored over the years an international “army” of leaders (known as Arny’s Army, or AA ),who followed his steps in advocating the values and uses of the underpinning disciplines of industrial microbiology for society and environment. We - members of AA, moulded while at MIT - later spread his message all over the world in academia and industry. We are all indebted to Arny for his guidance, friendship and inspiration. We always claim that we consider our beloved useful microbes as our best friends, but in reality we treat them as slaves ever since we started studying and culturing microorganisms in the laboratory and in industry; we have made their everyday normal life much more difficult, even unpleasant ! But working with Arny was always an experience and a pleasure never to forget!