The 2012 Microbial Stress Responses Gordon Research Conference will provide a forum for the open reporting of recent discoveries on the diverse mechanisms employed by microbes to respond to stress. From its inception in 1994, this conference has reported the latest advances in microbial stress responses. Posters and talks will illustrate the diverse systems used for survival during stress. Topics from past sessions include protein quality control, antibiotic, temperature, nutritional, compartmental or DNA damage stress responses. Approaches range from analysis at the molecular level (how are signals perceived and transmitted to change gene expression or function) to cellular and microbial community responses. This conference traditionally attracts researchers from the biological and physical sciences who study stress responses in medically or environmentally relevant microbes as well as in model organisms, using genetic, cell biological, genomic and computational techniques. The opportunity to integrate these diverse approaches to dissecting stress responses is a strength of the meeting. The outstanding international scientists in attendance and the range of microbial systems being investigated, together with the intimate and pleasant setting at Mount Holyoke College, provide a fertile ground for the exchange of ideas, approaches or building new collaborations among junior and senior investigators.