| # | Title | Journal | Year | Citations |
|---|
| 1 | The biofilm matrix | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2010 | 7,296 |
| 2 | Bacterial biofilms: from the Natural environment to infectious diseases | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2004 | 5,690 |
| 3 | Antimicrobial peptides: pore formers or metabolic inhibitors in bacteria? | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2005 | 4,822 |
| 4 | Pathogenic Escherichia coli | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2004 | 4,065 |
| 5 | Origin and evolution of pathogenic coronaviruses | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2019 | 3,993 |
| 6 | Biofilms: an emergent form of bacterial life | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2016 | 3,725 |
| 7 | Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2021 | 3,334 |
| 8 | Molecular mechanisms of antibiotic resistance | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2015 | 2,836 |
| 9 | Trichoderma species — opportunistic, avirulent plant symbionts | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2004 | 2,753 |
| 10 | SARS and MERS: recent insights into emerging coronaviruses | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2016 | 2,752 |
| 11 | The gut microbiota — masters of host development and physiology | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2013 | 2,711 |
| 12 | Microbial interactions: from networks to models | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2012 | 2,693 |
| 13 | Going back to the roots: the microbial ecology of the rhizosphere | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2013 | 2,669 |
| 14 | SARS-CoV-2 variants, spike mutations and immune escape | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2021 | 2,650 |
| 15 | Marine viruses — major players in the global ecosystem | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2007 | 2,602 |
| 16 | Microbial biogeography: putting microorganisms on the map | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2006 | 2,434 |
| 17 | Urinary tract infections: epidemiology, mechanisms of infection and treatment options | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2015 | 2,406 |
| 18 | The skin microbiome | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2011 | 2,404 |
| 19 | Pyroptosis: host cell death and inflammation | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2009 | 2,372 |
| 20 | Wolbachia: master manipulators of invertebrate biology | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2008 | 2,305 |
| 21 | The microbial nitrogen-cycling network | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2018 | 2,269 |
| 22 | Biological control of soil-borne pathogens by fluorescent pseudomonads | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2005 | 2,181 |
| 23 | Embracing the unknown: disentangling the complexities of the soil microbiome | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2017 | 2,087 |
| 24 | Bacterial competition: surviving and thriving in the microbial jungle | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2010 | 2,085 |
| 25 | An updated evolutionary classification of CRISPR–Cas systems | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2015 | 2,081 |
| 26 | Evolution and classification of the CRISPR–Cas systems | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2011 | 2,078 |
| 27 | Coronavirus biology and replication: implications for SARS-CoV-2 | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2021 | 2,062 |
| 28 | Waves of resistance: Staphylococcus aureus in the antibiotic era | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2009 | 2,049 |
| 29 | The gut microbiota, bacterial metabolites and colorectal cancer | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2014 | 2,007 |
| 30 | Uniting the classification of cultured and uncultured bacteria and archaea using 16S rRNA gene sequences | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2014 | 2,000 |
| 31 | Exoelectrogenic bacteria that power microbial fuel cells | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2009 | 1,998 |
| 32 | Antimicrobial activity of metals: mechanisms, molecular targets and applications | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2013 | 1,987 |
| 33 | Gut microbiota in human metabolic health and disease | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2021 | 1,960 |
| 34 | Bacteriophage resistance mechanisms | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2010 | 1,906 |
| 35 | Bacteriocins: developing innate immunity for food | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2005 | 1,884 |
| 36 | Physiological heterogeneity in biofilms | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2008 | 1,860 |
| 37 | Antibiotic resistance and its cost: is it possible to reverse resistance? | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2010 | 1,855 |
| 38 | Gut biogeography of the bacterial microbiota | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2016 | 1,772 |
| 39 | The ecology and biotechnology of sulphate-reducing bacteria | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2008 | 1,737 |
| 40 | Call of the wild: antibiotic resistance genes in natural environments | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2010 | 1,733 |
| 41 | Arbuscular mycorrhiza: the mother of plant root endosymbioses | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2008 | 1,687 |
| 42 | Methanogenic archaea: ecologically relevant differences in energy conservation | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2008 | 1,674 |
| 43 | Cyanobacterial blooms | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2018 | 1,671 |
| 44 | Mechanisms of, and Barriers to, Horizontal Gene Transfer between Bacteria | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2005 | 1,654 |
| 45 | Persister cells, dormancy and infectious disease | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2007 | 1,653 |
| 46 | How antibiotics kill bacteria: from targets to networks | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2010 | 1,648 |
| 47 | Tackling antibiotic resistance: the environmental framework | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2015 | 1,612 |
| 48 | Microbial life in the phyllosphere | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2012 | 1,600 |
| 49 | Quorum sensing signal–response systems in Gram-negative bacteria | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2016 | 1,586 |
| 50 | The human skin microbiome | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 2018 | 1,576 |
