JIMB will cease to be published by Springer Nature as of 31st December 2020. The journal will continue in cooperation with a new publisher, Oxford University Press. Please turn to https://academic.oup.com/jimb for information regarding the new publisher and submission process. Springer Nature will continue to host an archive of all articles previously published in the journal and all articles published in JIMB during its time with Springer Nature will remain fully searchable via the Springer Nature website. Visit the journal’s website https://academic.oup.com/jimb for further information. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ A Publication of the Society of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology .