It has been 75 years since a group of pioneers founded the Spanish Society of Microbiology (SEM). Among them were, in addition to university professors and research scientists, microbiology practitioners from clinical laboratories, public health, and industry. This account describes the trajectory of the SEM, as a focal point of cooperation for the development of Microbiology in Spain during the more than seven decades of its existence. The efforts of its members resulted in everything from promoting a scientific environment to leadership of some of the activities of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS). My interest was to frame the development of Microbiology in Spain in the context of the continuous advances of microbial studies in the world. Indeed, since the 1940s, description of and experimentation with microbial species has provided a deep understanding. Furthermore, it has furnished model systems used to establish basic concepts in Life Sciences, as well as the most appropriate technological instruments for the advancement of Omics, Systems Biology, and Synthetic Biology. Those who 75 years ago dreamed of the progress of our discipline in Spain perhaps did not imagine that the Spanish microbiologist Francisco Mojica would contribute to essential knowledge, making the acronym “CRISPR” the most used across the world of Life Sciences and Biomedicine.

自一群先驱者创立西班牙微生物学会 (SEM) 至今已有 75 年。其中，除了大学教授和研究科学家之外，还有来自临床实验室、公共卫生和工业界的微生物学从业者。该帐户描述了 SEM 的发展轨迹，它是西班牙微生物学在其存在的七年多期间发展的合作焦点。其成员的努力产生了从促进科学环境到领导欧洲微生物学会联合会 (FEMS) 的一些活动的方方面面。我的兴趣是在世界微生物研究不断进步的背景下构建西班牙微生物学的发展。事实上，自 1940 年代以来，微生物物种的描述和实验提供了深刻的理解。此外，它还提供了用于建立生命科学基本概念的模型系统，以及最适合推进组学、系统生物学和合成生物学的技术工具。那些 75 年前梦想着我们学科在西班牙取得进步的人可能没有想到，西班牙微生物学家弗朗西斯科·莫吉卡（Francisco Mojica）会为基本知识做出贡献，使首字母缩略词“CRISPR”成为生命科学和生物医学领域最常用的缩写。