The American Society of Microbiology is the world's largest and oldest member organization in the field of life sciences. The number of members has grown from 59 in 1899 to over 43000 today, with more than one-third of them coming from countries and regions outside the United States. These members cover 26 disciplines in microbiology and microbiology education. The Journal of the American Society of Microbiology is the most outstanding publication in the field of microbiology, comprehensively promoting research in the field of basic and clinical microbiology. The number of published articles exceeds 26% of the total number of papers in the field of microbiology, with article citations accounting for 44% of all microbiological papers cited.