Microorganisms that convert gaseous nitrogen (N2) to a form suitable for use by living organisms are pivotal for life on Earth. Another set of microbial reactions utilize the bio-available nitrogen creating N2 and completing the cycle. This crucial nutrient cycle has long been the subject of extensive research, and recent advances - in studying the biochemistry, bioinformatics, cell biology, and the physiology of bacterial nitrogen cycling processes, alongside the advent of the omics age - have had a massive impact, enabling us to fully appreciate the sheer diversity of approaches adapted by individual organisms. Research in this area is at a very exciting stage. This timely book provides comprehensive reviews of current nitrogen cycle research and gives a broader perspective on the state of our understanding of this key biogeochemical cycle. With contributions from expert authors from around the world, the topics covered include: the archaean N-cycle * redox complexes N-cycle * organization of respiratory chains in N-cycle processes * Mo-nitrogenase * nitrogen assimilation in bacteria * alternative routes to dinitrogen * nitrite and nitrous oxide reductases * assembly of respiratory proteins * nitric oxide metabolism * denitrification in legume-associated endosymbiotic bacteria * nitrous oxide production in the terrestrial environment * bacterial nitrogen cycling in humans. This book will serve as a valuable reference work for everyone working in this field and will also be of interest to researchers studying symbioses, environmental microbiology, plant metabolism, infection events, and other prokaryote-eukaryote interactions.

Agricultural biotechnology and the production of GM crops have been controversial despite being practiced in both developed and developing countries, the major reason being their potential negative impact on human / animal health or environment. Also prevalent is the view that it is simply unethical to engineer different forms of life in the laboratory, especially when it comes to consuming food generated through genetic engineering. GM crops have been introduced into the agricultural landscape more than 2 decades ago which has allowed us to study their effects on economy, health and the environment. Agricultural Biotechnology: Genetic Engineering for a Food Cause is a compendium of information, practices, observations and discernible insights on agriculture, biotechnology and sustainable development. The book begins by descriptions of genetic engineering practices and strategies for producing GM crops, their importance in the food chain and advantages of GM crops over non-modified crops. Followed by chapters on the strategic genetic applications and the use of synthetics microbiology and microbial symbiosis, Agricultural Biotechnology: Genetic Engineering concludes with an insight of the Future of microbiotechnology in agricultural practices. Agricultural Biotechnology: Genetic Engineering for a Food Cause fills a gap by summarizing the available literature in a wide variety of topics under one single volume, being accessible to audiences in academic, government and industry spaces.

Consumers favour foods with fewer synthetic additives, but products must also be safe to eat and have a sufficiently long shelf-life. Biopreservation, the use of a product's natural microflora and its antibacterial products for protection against pathogens and spoilage, is a method of growing interest for the safe production of high quality minimally-processed foods. This book provides an essential overview of key topics in this area. Initial chapters review central aspects in food biopreservation, including the identification of new protective cultures and antimicrobial culture components, existing commercial fermentates including nisin and natamycin and the potential of novel fermentates and bacteriophages to improve food safety. Part II concentrates on the use of protective cultures, bacteriocins and bacteriophages to control the carriage of pathogenic microorganisms in food animals and to modulate human gut microflora. Chapters in the final section of the book review biopreservation of different types of foods, including milk and dairy products, fermented meats, fresh seafood and fruit. A review of active packaging for food biopreservation completes the volume. Edited by a leading expert, Protective cultures, antimicrobial metabolites and bacteriophages for food and beverage biopreservation is a fundamental reference for researchers and food industry professionals working to ensure the safety of the food supply.

Eukaryotic Microbes presents chapters hand-selected by the editor of the Encyclopedia of Microbiology, updated whenever possible by their original authors to include key developments made since their initial publication. The book provides an overview of the main groups of eukaryotic microbes and presents classic and cutting-edge research on content relating to fungi and protists, including chapters on yeasts, algal blooms, lichens, and intestinal protozoa. This concise and affordable book is an essential reference for students and researchers in microbiology, mycology, immunology, environmental sciences, and biotechnology.

Echinococcus and Echinococcosis Part A and B present a complete synthesis on what is known about the parasitic cestode echinococcus and the disease it causes, echinococcosis (Hydatid Disease), also demonstrating that in addition to its medical, veterinary, and economic significance, it is an intriguing biological phenomenon. Both parts build on the success of a previous volume, Echinococcus and Hydatid Disease, edited by R.C.A. Thompson and A.J. Lymbery, and published by CAB International, that details the major advances that have taken place since its release. As such, it remains the only comprehensive account that embraces virtually all aspects of echinococcus and the disease it causes. The links between laboratory knowledge and field applications are emphasized throughout the volumes. Consequently, research workers, teachers, students of parasitology, clinicians, and field workers will find this work an indispensable source of information.

Metagenomics to Bioremediation: Applications, Cutting Edge Tools, and Future Outlook provides detailed insight into metagenomics approaches to bioremediation in a comprehensive manner, thus enabling the analysis of microbial behavior at a community level under different environmental stresses during degradation and detoxification of environmental pollutants. The book summarizes each and all aspects of metagenomics applications to bioremediation, helping readers overcome the lack of updated information on advancement in microbial ecology dealing with pollution abatement. Users will find insight not only on the fundamentals of metagenomics and bioremediation, but also on recent trends and future expectations. This book will appeal to readers from diverse backgrounds in biology, chemistry and life sciences.

The Norovirus: Features, Detection and Prevention of Foodborne Disease is a unique and valuable reference for both researchers in industry and students who need to understand how this specific pathogen behaves in order to improve control of food as a transmission of this infectious biological agent. The information in the book provides essential, specific information to help further understand potential new strains of the pathogen, offering detection analysis and prevention strategies of the pathogen to assist in combatting the spread of foodborne illness. Written by national and international experts in the field, this book will be a practical source of information for food scientists, food microbiologists, food technologists, food industry workers, public health workers, and students.

Microbial biodegradation of non-metals pollutants plays a pivotal role in the bioremediation of contaminated soil and groundwater sites. Such pollutants include chloroethenes, steroids, organophosphorus compounds, alkanes, PAHs, and PCBs. In this important book, international experts exhaustively review this topic from a biochemical and genetic viewpoint, providing a timely overview of current research. Topics covered include: enzymatic biodegradation reactions * the impact of bioturbation on hydrocarbon dynamics in marine sediments * the structure, function, and biodiversity of ring-hydroxylating dioxygenases involved in PAH biodegradation * strategies to engineer PCB-degrading bacteria * PCB-degrading plant-microbe systems strategies * the structure, regulation, and diversity of microbial genes encoding biodegradative enzymes. In addition, there are excellent reviews detailing the application of the state-of-the-art molecular technologies to study biodegradative processes. The technologies covered are community fingerprinting, molecular detection of degradative genes, and metagenomics for the analysis and monitoring of microorganisms in situ. These are complemented well by the fascinating reviews of the catabolic plasmids and mobile genetic elements involved in bioremediation, including discussions on the origin and evolution of these catabolic pathways to different genera. In addition, the best procedures for the evaluation and design of relevant in situ remediation strategies are examined and classical ex-situ technologies such Landfarming, Composting, Biopiling, and Slurry-phase bioremediation are described. This book is a vital reference resource for research scientists, graduate students, and other specialists interested on microbial bioremediation of organic pollutants, and it is recommended reading for environmental microbiologists, chemists, and engineers.

Trends of Applied Microbiology for a Sustainable Economy discusses the role of modern tools and next-generation technologies in applied microbial research, including recent trends and innovation in global biofertilizers. Agriculture has seen dramatic changes since the time of its inception. Starting with the domestication of wild plants to small-scale traditional farming and then large-scale, chemical-intensive agriculture. It is at a crossroads once again, putting a huge amount of pressure on available natural resources like soil, water and biodiversity which is bound to increase with the ever-growing human population. This book helps readers understand the challenges associated with these demographic changes.

The Zebrafish: Cellular and Developmental Biology, Part B Developmental Biology, the second volume on the topic in the Methods in Cell Biology series, looks at methods for analyzing cellular and developmental biology of zebrafish. Chapters cover such topics as cell biology and developmental and neural biology.

The Zebrafish: Cellular and Developmental Biology, Part A Cellular Biology, is the latest edition in the Methods in Cell Biology series that looks at methods for analyzing cellular and developmental biology of zebrafish. Chapters cover such topics as cell biology and developmental and neural biology.

Microbiorobotics is a new engineering discipline that inherently involves a multidisciplinary approach (mechanical engineering, cellular biology, mathematical modeling, control systems, synthetic biology, etc). Building robotics system in the micro scale is an engineering task that has resulted in many important applications, ranging from micromanufacturing techniques to cellular manipulation. However, it is also a very challenging engineering task. One of the reasons is because many engineering ideas and principles that are used in larger scales do not scale well to the micro-scale. For example, locomotion principles in a fluid do not function in the same way, and the use of rotational motors is impractical because of the difficulty of building of the required components.

Advances in Applied Microbiology continues to be one of the most widely read and authoritative review sources in microbiology, containing comprehensive reviews of the most current research in applied microbiology. Users will find invaluable references and information on a variety of areas, including protozoan grazing of freshwater biofilms, metals in yeast fermentation processes, the interpretation of host-pathogen dialogue through microarrays, and the role of polyamines in bacterial growth and biofilm formation. Eclectic volumes are supplemented by thematic volumes on various topics, including Archaea and sick building syndrome.

Advances in Microbial Physiology continues the long tradition of topical and important, cutting-edge reviews in microbiology.

Haemonchus Contortus and Haemonchosis - Past, Present and Future Trends, the latest in the Advances in Parasitology series first published in 1963, contains comprehensive and up-to-date reviews on all areas of interest in contemporary parasitology. The series includes medical studies of parasites of major influence, such as Plasmodium falciparum and trypanosomes. The series also contains reviews of more traditional areas, such as zoology, taxonomy, and life history, which help to shape current thinking and applications. The 2014 impact factor is 6.226.

Microbial Syntrophy-Mediated Eco-enterprising summarizes and reviews possible microbial applications for eco-industrial sustainability. The book emphasizes a wide spectrum of experimental and theoretical contributions from eminent researchers in the field. In 13 chapters, there is a focus on the microbial intrusions for remediating sites by accumulated pesticides, heavy metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and other industrial effluents. Moreover, the potentiality and key mechanisms used by microorganisms for sustainable environmental management and their prospects are also considered in this new release. The term syntrophy for nutritional interdependence is often used in microbiology to describe the symbiotic relationship between bacterial species. Understanding such interactions can be of considerable interest when we come to manipulate microbes to our own benefit, such as by disrupting pathogenic communities with antibiotics or by promoting efficiency in communities that produce energy or break down waste.

Sustainable Horticulture: Microbial Inoculants and Stress Interaction gives insights into the applications and formulations of microbial inoculants. In recent years, the optimum yields of horticultural plants largely influenced by rising global temperature, biotic stress (attack of pathogens) and abiotic stresses has created extra pressure for the horticulturalist to meet the need of optimum yield production for the burgeoning global population. However, the challenges of biotic and abiotic stress factors mitigated by traditional physical or chemicals methods include high application cost and adverse impact on quality limit the frequent use, hence the solutions in this book create new avenues for progress. This book covers those challenges and how microbial based bio inoculants are broadly used in horticulture to mitigate the challenges of biotic and abiotic stresses. It provides an important contribution on how to apply efficient beneficial microbes (microbial inoculants) for a sustainable society.

Endophytic Association: What, Why, and How focuses on the endophytic association of plants, how they have originated inside the host, their importance, and how they are beneficial for the environment, as well as humans. The book discusses how using endophytic microbes in agricultural fields can be enriched without impacting environment negatively, and how they can be utilized for pharmaceutical purposes, including bioremediation. It includes advanced and up-to-date information, as well as future directions for young researchers and scientists who are working in the field of agriculture, pharmaceuticals, bio nanotechnology and bioremediation of environmental contaminants for environmental protection and sustainable development.

Advances in Applied Microbiology continues to be one of the most widely read and authoritative review sources in microbiology, containing comprehensive reviews of the most current research in applied microbiology. Users will find invaluable references and information on a variety of areas, including protozoan grazing of freshwater biofilms, metals in yeast fermentation processes, the interpretation of host-pathogen dialogue through microarrays, and the role of polyamines in bacterial growth and biofilm formation. Eclectic volumes are supplemented by thematic volumes on various topics, including Archaea and sick building syndrome.

Bacterial Bioflocculant for Multifunctional Features highlights research findings on the production and characterization of self-assembling bioflocculant from bacterial consortium (encompassing Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis and Proteus mirabilis). The book describes the various high-throughput techniques for characterization of wastewater at microbiological and molecular level. Sections cover pharmaceutical compounds, macromolecular compounds and other contaminants, the biotoxicity exhibited cellular and nuclear abnormalities in the zebra fish, and high-throughput techniques used for evaluating the flocculating efficiency of the bacterial bioflocculant to remove the contaminants in different other applications. Bacterial Bioflocculant for Multifunctional Features will help users undertake further advanced research in bacterial bioflocculant for bioremediation technology and environmental prospectives. In addition, it will also inspire readers to understand bioflocculation and its functions.

Brewing Microbiology discusses the microbes that are essential to successful beer production and processing, and the ways they can pose hazards in terms of spoilage and sensory quality. The text examines the properties and management of these microorganisms in brewing, along with tactics for reducing spoilage and optimizing beer quality. It opens with an introduction to beer microbiology, covering yeast properties and management, and then delves into a review of spoilage bacteria and other contaminants and tactics to reduce microbial spoilage. Final sections explore the impact of microbiology on the sensory quality of beer and the safe management and valorisation of brewing waste.