By Simon Danneskiold-Sams?e, AAU Communications and Public Affairs
Photos: Ulrik Gutkin, CFC Kort & Doc / Nordic Made Film

In an internationally recognized project, researchers have mapped thousands of Danish microorganisms and bacteria, drawing a completely new microbiological map of Denmark. The project is called Microflora Danica and is a modern version of the original Flora Danica commissioned by King Frederik V in the mid-18th century. The mapping is done using hundreds of soil samples that were then analyzed. But what do you do when you have thousands of new microorganisms, all of which need a name? Fortunately, the solution was obvious:

"We simply lacked an enormous number of names, so it was obvious to name the species according to their geographical origin. That way, we create a direct link between nature in a specific area or near a certain city and research on microbiological life. It makes for a connectedness to the research and is a fun way to make microbiology more concrete," explains Mads Albertsen, Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Bioscience at Aalborg University.

The purpose of mapping Denmark's microbiological life is, among other things, a better understanding of its role in the ecosystems of our local environments and to identify the potential to support the green transition, for example.

A name is not just a name

Specifically, the researchers paired the individual species with a nearby place name and then ran it through a digital name machine that then provided the Latin names. However, the names must first be formally approved in a system called SeqCode before they can be included in the internationally recognized Genome Taxonomy Database (GTDB). During 2025, Aalborg managed to attract the leading experts from both SeqCode and GTDB to Aalborg University, making AAU a world leader in the efforts to discover, name and categorize the microbial diversity around us. 

"You can only discover and name a new species once. After that, it is permanently fixed in history. I think it's fantastic that Denmark will have such a big influence on the microbial world map, because in the next 10 years we will gradually fill the empty areas in the map," says Mads Albertsen.

Unknown territory

The preliminary results were published in the journal Nature Microbiology and are expected to have a major impact on environmental research, biotechnology and the understanding of biodiversity.

"I¡¯m very fortunate to be an explorer in a huge and relatively unknown universe that is also right at our feet. We are constantly learning new things, and since we still know very little about the characteristics of the individual species, our research holds great potential. Microflora Danica is the first big step on a long journey," says Mads Albertsen.