工作现场
What is iMAPS?
Microbes have thrived on Earth for 3.8 billion years and are the invisible architects of life. They support the health of humans, animals, plants, and ecosystems - yet less than 1% of the natural microbiome has been explored or utilized.
3.8
BILLION YEARS
1%
EXPLORE
Facing challenges from modernization,antibiotic overuse, climate change, and biodiversity loss, preserving and mobilizing microbial diversity is more urgent than ever. Current methods, focused on community-level sequencing, cannot reveal the living in-situ metabolic functions of microbial cells–the very “dark matter of life."
iMAPS introduces a new paradigm: powered by China's original single-cell Raman instruments, Al-driven analytics, and global
What We Deliver
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A global in-situ microbial metabolic atlas across diverse ecosystems.
Open-access or sovereign -governed strain repositories, enriched with complete6W metadata.
Intelligent workflows linking cultivation, sequencing,multi-omics, and reuse.
Demonstrated applications in healthcare,sustainable agriculture, infectious disease control, environmental restoration, and green biomanufacturing
iMAPS Vision
iMAPS Mission
iMAPS (in-situ Metabolic Atlas Project @ Single-cell) is a global initiative that brings together pioneering
single-cell Raman technologies, Al-powered data platforms, and an open international network.
Our mission is to
Establish a distributed, automated, intelligent network of “metabolic sensors +strain miners +
ecological restorers", enabling real-time microbial function discovery.
Our mission is to
Break the century-old bottleneck of microbiology by shifting from “sequence-based potential" to
function-based single-cell reality.
Our mission is to
Provide a shared resource and knowledge platform to accelerate solutions in precision health, food
security, dimate resilience, dean energy, and next-generation biomanufacturing.
Our Approach
Meta-Ramanomics
An original, label-free, non-invasive, high-throughput single-cell molecular
fingerprinting system to perform “metabolic health checks” on every microbial cell.
6W Framework
Exhaustive single-cell resolution answers to: Who is it? What does it do? Why
does it matter? What value (Wealth) does it hold? When and where does it function?
Integrated Multi-omics
Linking Raman-based single-cell sorting with downstream genomics,
transcriptomics, metabolomics, and cultivation.
Global iMAPS Network
A consortium of >40 national labs, Fortune 500 companies, and top overseas
institutions building 50–60 distributed detection sites worldwide.
From Discovery to Application
Bridging frontier science with practical use, transforming single-cell
insights into innovations in health, agriculture, environment, and industry.
History & Milestones
May 2023 – A-STEP Alliance
Launch of the Alliance of Single-cell TEchnology for Probiotics (A-STEP) in Beijing by the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (QIBEBT, CAS), the China National Research Institute of Food & Fermentation Industries (CNRIFFI), CheersHealth Institute, and Single-cell Biotech Co., Ltd., joined by academic and industrial partners including Jiangnan University, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Yili Group, Mengniu Dairy Group, COFCO Nutrition and Health Research Institute, International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), Novozymes OneHealth, DSM Nutritional Products, Fonterra, and BGI Genomics.
June 2024 – P.R.E.P.
The Pathogen Ramanomics Engine Project (P.R.E.P.) was launched by QIBEBT, CAS, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), and the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMCAS), establishing single-cell precision for pathogen identification, tracing, and drug testing.
July 2024 – Agri-MAPS
The in situ Metabolic Atlas Project @ Single-cell for Agriculture (Agri-MAPS) was initiated by QIBEBT, CAS, the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (IARRP, CAAS), the Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, CAS (IGA, CAS), and the Moutai Institute of Science and Technology, applying “function-first, then cultivation” workflows to soil microbiomes for sustainable agriculture.
October 2024 – iMAPS-ES
The in situ Metabolic Atlas Project @ Single-cell for Environmental Sustainability (iMAPS-ES) was launched in Qingdao with partners including the University of Oklahoma, University of Oxford, University of California San Diego, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Procter & Gamble (P&G), targeting ecosystem monitoring and ecological restoration.
December 2024 – iMAPS-Probiotics
The in situ Metabolic Atlas Project @ Single-cell for Probiotics (iMAPS-Probiotics) was launched in Wuxi by QIBEBT, CAS and Jiangnan University, focusing on gut microbiota and accelerating probiotic discovery and industrial application with partners such as the University of Hong Kong, Tongji University, Washington University in St. Louis, University of California San Diego, Yili Group, and COFCO Nutrition and Health Research Institute.
August 2025 – Training Workshop
At the 16th National Symposium on Microbial Resources, QIBEBT, CAS and IARRP, CAAS co-hosted the iMAPS Training Workshop, with 150+ participants, demonstrating Agri-MAPS as a testbed for translating single-cell technologies into agriculture.
2025 and Beyond – iMAPS Consortium
iMAPS is evolving into a global distributed consortium, building a real-time network of “metabolic sensors + strain miners + ecological restorers” and creating a dynamic Global Microbial Metabolic Atlas.
FAQs
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The International in-situ Metabolic Atlas Project @ Single-cell — a global effort to explore, preserve, and apply the hidden metabolic power of microbes at single-cell resolution.
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Unlike traditional metagenomics, iMAPS reveals living metabolic functions directly in single cells, enabling real-time detection, sorting, cultivation, and reuse.
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An original approach integrating single-cell Raman spectroscopy with isotope probing and multi-omics, offering an exhaustive functional lens on microbial “dark matter.”
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Academic researchers, industry partners, and policy organizations worldwide are welcome to join the iMAPS network.
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In precision health, sustainable agriculture, infectious disease prevention, environmental restoration, clean energy, and advanced biomanufacturing.