Microorganisms are primitive organisms that easily undergo genetic changes and develop special characteristics to combat environmental changes. The mutations in microbes induced through stress, antibacterial compounds, or antibiotics impose a great risk to global health, as well as to domestic animals and even to crop plants. On the other hand, induced mutagenesis helps in the functional annotation of genes and in obtaining desired traits.

Directional evolution of microbes is one of the most efficient tools in the study of microbes and the exploration of microbes for industrial applications. Selection of variants through directed evolution has enabled us to design strains with desired traits by introducing genetic changes. There are several strategies and approaches to speed up directional evolution that allow the modification of a protein in the whole organism. Similarly, recent advances in genome editing technology have also opened up several opportunities to study and explore microbes more efficiently. The application of these techniques in understanding the adaptation mechanisms employed by microbes and the importance of microbial products in pharmaceuticals, research, agriculture, and the food industry highlights the potential of this area of study.

In this Special Issue, both original research and review articles focusing on induced mutagenesis, directional evolution, and genome editing in microbes will be compiled. We also welcome articles describing new methods and approaches in these areas of microbiology.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Induced mutagenesis leading to drug resistance
• Induced mutagenesis leading to beneficial traits
• Outbreaks due to microbial evolution
• Gene-for-gene evolution and host-pathogen interactions
• Directional evolution strategies, approaches, and successes
• Strategies and approaches for genome editing in microbes