The theme of this Conference is "Evolution, nature and function of microbial interactions". Marine/aquatic microbes live in diverse environments and individual cells and communities face strong ecological and evolutionary pressures on different spatial and temporal scales. In such a complex world, microbial interactions critically drive the evolution of diverse life styles, genome structure, and cellular response that shape their ecology and impact on biogeochemical cycles. The Conference will present and rigorously discuss concepts and ideas at the forefront of molecular microbial ecology and evolution in order to elucidate the nature and role of diverse interactions among microbes in all three domains of life (Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya) and how it shapes the functioning of complex biological systems in diverse marine (oceans, seas) and aquatic (lakes, rivers, ice) environments. The Conference also aims to include cutting-edge research from diverse fields (biomedical, mathematics, modeling) relevant to the broad diversity of marine microbes (bacteria, archaea, phytoplankton, protists, and viruses). The Conference will feature presentations of unpublished work by investigators at the forefront of the field in and will provide opportunities for junior scientists, postdocs, and graduate students to present their work in poster format and exchange ideas with leaders in the field. A collegial atmosphere will be fostered through extensive discussion sessions and daily opportunities for informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, providing an ideal setting for scientists from different disciplines to exchange ideas, brainstorm and discuss cross-disciplinary collaborations.