The book discusses the importance of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) as a crop, highlighting the potential for eggplant to serve as a model for understanding several evolutionary and taxonomic questions. It also explores the genomic make-up, in particular in comparison to other Solanaceous crops, and examines the parallels between eggplant and tomato domestication as well as between the most common eggplant species and two related eggplants native to Africa (Ethiopian eggplant [Solanum aethiopicum L.] and African eggplant [Solanum macrocarpon L.]). The eggplant genome was first sequenced in 2014, and an improved version was due to be released in 2017. Further investigations have revealed the relationships between wild species, domesticated eggplant, and feral weedy eggplant (derived from the domesticate), as well as targets of selection during domestication. Parallels between eggplant and tomato domestication loci are well known and the molecular basis is currently being investigated. Eggplant is a source of nutrition for millions of people worldwide, especially in Southeast Asia where it is a staple food source. Domesticated in the old world, in contrast to its congeners tomato and potato, the eggplant is morphologically and nutritionally diverse. The spread of wild eggplants from Africa is particularly interesting from a cultural point of view. This book brings together diverse fields of research, from bioinformatics to taxonomy to nutrition to allow readers to fully understand eggplant's importance and potential.

In order to feed the world, global agriculture will have to double food production by 2050. As a result, the use of soils with fertilizers and pesticides in agronomic ecosystems will increase, taking into account the sustainability of these systems and also the provision of food security. Thus, soil ecosystems, their health, and their quality are directly involved in sustainable agronomical practices, and it is important to recognize the important role of soil microbial communities such as mycorrhizal fungi, their biodiversity, interactions, and functioning. Soil ecosystems are under the threat of biodiversity loss due to an increase of cultivated areas and agronomic exploitation intensity. Also, changes in land use alter the structure and function of ecosystems where biodiversity is vital in the ecosystem. Soils are a major aid in food production in all terrestrial ecosystems; however, this means they are also involved in gas emission and global warming. Thus, in agronomic ecosystems, several mitigation practices have been proposed to promote the increase of carbon soil stock, and the reduction of warming gas emission from soils. In South America, most of the rural population depends economically on agriculture and usually works in family units. New, organic, safe, and sustainable agro-forestry practices must be applied to support local communities and countries to achieve hunger eradication, rural poverty reduction, and sustainable development. This book compiles new information for mycorrhizal occurrence in natural and anthropic environments in South America. It includes new reports of mycorrhizal fungi diversity along different mycorrhizal types and their effect on plant communities, plant invasions, the use of mycorrhizal fungi for ecological and sustainable studies, management programs of natural and agroecosystems, and forestry and food-secure production. This book fills the gaps in biodiversity knowledge, management and safe food production of mycorrhizas. It should be a valuable help to researchers, professors and students, to aid in use of mycorrhizal fungi while also focusing on their biodiversity, sustainable safe food production, and conservation perspectives.

Molecular farming in plants is a relatively young subject of sciences. As plants can offer an inexpensive and convenient platform for the large-scale production of recombinant proteins with various functions, the driven force from the giant market for recombinant protein pharmaceuticals and industrial enzymes makes this subject grow and advance very quickly. To summarize recent advances, current challenges and future directions in molecular farming, international authorities were invited to write this book for researchers, teachers and students who are interested in this subject. This book, with the focus on the most advanced cutting-edge breakthroughs, covers all the essential aspects of the field of molecular farming in plants: from expression technologies to downstream processing, from products to safety issues, and from current advances and holdups to future developments.

This volume contains the proceedings of the Eighth International Symposium on Cyclodextrins, held in Budapest, Hungary, March 31-April 2, 1996. The 147 papers collected here are milestones in the exponentially increasing cyclodextrin literature, and represent a summary of the last two years' achievement in this field, with applications in such diverse disciplines as pharmaceuticals, food, cosmetics, textiles, plastics, and chromatography. Some highlights: lipophilicity profiles of cyclodextrins by computer molecular graphics; recent toxicological studies on cyclodextrins; Buckminsterfullerene/cyclodextrin complexes; hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin; pharmacokinetics and toxicology; peracylated cyclodextrins as drug carriers; cyclodextrins in nasal drug delivery; textile fibre surface modification by a reactive cyclodextrin; cyclodextrin-containing fabric care products; drug targeting by cyclodextrin-dimers for photodynamic cancer therapy; cyclodextrins in ophthalmologic drugs; new cyclodextrin derivatives and their potentials. Audience: This book will be of interest to researchers whose work involves pharmaceuticals, food chemicals and flavours, food additives, chromatographic methods, and biotechnology, as well as fundamental cyclodextrin research.

Biotic stresses cause yield loss of 31-42% in crops in addition to 6-20% during post-harvest stage. Understanding interaction of crop plants to the biotic stresses caused by insects, bacteria, fungi, viruses, and oomycetes, etc. is important to develop resistant crop varieties. Knowledge on the advanced genetic and genomic crop improvement strategies including molecular breeding, transgenics, genomic-assisted breeding and the recently emerging genome editing for developing resistant varieties in technical crops is imperative for addressing FHEE (food, health, energy and environment) security. Whole genome sequencing of these crops followed by genotyping-by-sequencing have facilitated precise information about the genes conferring resistance useful for gene discovery, allele mining and shuttle breeding which in turn opened up the scope for 'designing' crop genomes with resistance to biotic stresses. The 15 chapters dedicated to 13 technical crops and 2 technical crop groups in this volume will deliberate on different types of biotic stress agents and their effects on and interaction with crop plants; will enumerate on the available genetic diversity with regard to biotic stress resistance among available cultivars; illuminate on the potential gene pools for utilization in interspecific gene transfer; will brief on the classical genetics of stress resistance and traditional breeding for transferring them to their cultivated counterparts; will enunciate the success stories of genetic engineering for developing biotic stress resistant varieties; will discuss on molecular mapping of genes and QTLs underlying biotic stress resistance and their marker-assisted introgression into elite varieties; will enunciate on different emerging genomics-aided techniques including genomic selection, allele mining, gene discovery and gene pyramiding for developing resistant crop varieties with higher quantity and quality; and will also elaborate some case studies on genome editing focusing on specific genes for generating disease and insect resistant crops.

Biotechnology Entrepreneurship: From Science to Solutions fills a critical gap in the biotechnology industry. For all the resources on how to start companies and on how to manage established companies in other sectors, there is a dearth of material on unique and critical issues in starting biotechnology companies, as well as managing the transition from start-up to established company. It is to this gap that Biotechnology Entrepreneurship is directed. By combining the voices of a diverse set of industry insiders with extensive experience in biotechnology, Biotechnology Entrepreneurship prepares nascent founders, managers, investors, and other biotechnology company stakeholders to position themselves and their companies for commercial success.

Nano-enabled Sustainable and Precision Agriculture is the first single-volume resource to cover this important field using a whole systems approach that considers both opportunities and challenges. The book provides a comprehensive understanding of the role of nanotechnology in agriculture from broad aspects, but also includes a comprehensive view of the interaction of nanomaterials with soil-plant systems. It highlights aspects not described in previous books, including the application of nanoinformatics and artificial intelligence in nano-enabled sustainable agriculture, the application of nanotechnology in alternative forms of agriculture such as hydroponics, and regulatory frameworks for this research field. The book addresses all these aspects by including sections on enhanced sustainability, reduced pollution and enhanced ecosystems' health, and the role of nanoinformatics and machine learning.

This book discusses recent trends and concepts in the field of biorefinery. It discusses optimal and economic strategies for converting biomass to value-added products to maximize profits with minimal environmental impact with a sustainability approach. The chapters of the book are focused on the current technologies, techno-economical aspects, life cycle assessment, and case studies. The book is divided into three sections; the first section presents strategies for the production of biofuels like bioethanol, biomethane, biohydrogen, bio-oil, gasification, etc., from the biomass in a sustainable way. The second sections review the extraction of bioactive chemicals, phenolic antioxidants, enzymes, and carboxylic acid from the biomass residue. The last section examines the utilization of biomass for the production of bioactive materials, including biofertilizers, bioadsorbents, activated carbon, nano-materials, and pigments. This book explores the relation between biofuels and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) 7.

Biomaterials are advanced materials that garner interdisciplinary research. Wastewater pollution causes many adverse effects on human health and the environment. In order to rectify this, biomaterials and other nanomaterials have been utilized as photocatalysts against environmental waste. In this book, biomaterials are highlighted as a promising material for waste management, as biomaterials are cost-effective, eco-friendly and closer to nature.

The main driving force behind the development of new applications for chitin and its derivative chitosan lies with the fact that these polysaccharides represent a renewable source of natural biodegradable polymers. Since chitin is the second most abundant natural polymer, academic as well as industrial scientists are faced with a great challenge to find new and practical applications for this material. This book provides an examination of the state of the art, and discusses new applications as well as potential products. Applications of Chitin and Chitosan deals almost exclusively with applications. Previous books in the field have devoted less than 30% of their material to commercial or medical uses.
In the past thirty years, substantial progress has been made on fundamental and applied research in chitosan technology. One of the driving forces behind this rapid development has been the decrease in the supply of natural resources. At the same time there has been an increased realization that there are abundant alternative bioresources. Two factors-economics and versatility-have also stimulated interest in chitosan's utilization in various fields. Chitin and chitosan derivatives have applications in fields that range from fertilizers to pharmaceuticals. Chitosan is no longer just a waste by-product from the seafood processing industry. This material is now being utilized by industry to solve problems and to improve existing products, as well as to create new ones.
Applications of Chitin and Chitosan is illustrated with over 100 photos, charts, graphs and figures and more than 40 tables.
Applications of Chitin and Chitosan will be of interest to industrial personnel involved in bioprocessing as well as bioengineering students, specialists in the biomedical and biopharmaceutical industry, biochemists, food engineers, environmentalists, and microbiologists and biologists who specialize in chitosan technology. Publication: Fall 1996.

This book collates various aspects of stress tolerance in crop plants. It primarily focuses on the heat and temperature related stress, starting from the severity of the problem on quantity and quality of yield under the threat of global climate change. The content also explores other mechanistic dimensions such as physiochemical and molecular mechanism underlying thermotolerance, signaling mechanism under heat stress, role of heat shock proteins in modulating thermotolerance, omics approach for development of climate smart-crop. Chapters discuss different approaches used in the past to develop heat stress tolerant crop plants, list of developed thermotolerant agriculturally important crop plants, redox homeostasis under heat stress, nutrient uptake and use efficiency in plants under heat stress and much more. The book is a useful compilation for researchers working in the area of abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants, as well as for students of plant physiology and agricultural sciences.

Bloom Filter: A Data Structure for Computer Networking, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things, Bioinformatics, and Beyond focuses on both the theory and practice of the most emerging areas for Bloom filter application, including Big Data, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things, and Bioinformatics. Sections provide in-depth insights on structure and variants, focus on its role in computer networking, and discuss applications in various research domains, such as Big Data, Cloud Computing, and Bioinformatics. Since its inception, the Bloom Filter has been extensively experimented with and developed to enhance system performance such as web cache. Bloom filter influences many research fields, including Bioinformatics, Internet of Things, computer security, network appliances, Big Data and Cloud Computing.

Advances in Applied Microbiology, Volume 123 continues the comprehensive reach of this widely read and authoritative review source in microbiology. Users will find invaluable references and information on a variety of areas relating to the topics of microbiology.

Like the previous nine volumes published between 1988 and 1996, "Medicinal" "and" "Aromatic" "Plants X" is unique in its approach. It comprises 22 chapters dealing with the distribution, importance, conventional propagation, micropropagation, tissue culture studies, and the in vitro production of important medicinal and pharmaceutical compounds in various species of "Actinidia," "Alkanna," "Arnebia," "Campanula," "Catharanthus," "Centella," "Chenopodium," "Cornus," "Cynara," "Ephedra," "Euglena," "Haplophyllum," "Morus," "Oenothera," "Otacanthus," "Oxalis," "Polypodium," "Rosmarinus," "Sesamum," "Solanum," "Taxus," and "Tephrosia." This book is tailored to the needs of advanced students, teachers, and research scientists in the field of pharmacy, plant tissue culture, phytochemistry, biochemical engineering and plant biotechnology.

This thesis presents original research on how to seamlessly integrate electronics with living biological systems. Jia Liu has used silicon nanowires as active sensors to investigate biological signals at the cellular level. He has also designed nanoelectronic networks into flexible, three-dimensional (3D) and macroporous architectures, which mimic the structure of tissue scaffolds for in vitro 3D integrations with synthetic tissues and in vivo implantation by means of syringe injection. Importantly, the results demonstrate 3D interpenetrations of nanoelectronic networks with neural networks, 3D mapping of tissue activity and long-term implantation with minimal immunoresponses. Further, the book discusses potential applications for pharmacological studies, brain activity mapping and nanoelectronics enabled therapies. The findings presented here have gained wide recognition, including a top research ranking by Chemical & Engineering News and being listed among Scientific American's 10 world changing ideas in 2015.

With the erratic changes in climate, crop plants are facing many forms of biotic stresses. When plants are under stress, among several gene families, regulatory genes play a vital role in signal transduction in modulating the expression of genes underpinning several defense pathways and targeting regulatory proteins (viz, transcription factors (TFs)) can be the alternative. Transcription factors directly regulate the downstream R genes and are excellent candidates for disease resistance breeding. Till date, numerous transcription factors have been identified and characterized structurally and functionally. Of them, TF families such as WRKY, NAC, Whirly, Apetala2 (AP2), ethylene responsive elements (ERF) etc. are found to be associated with transcriptional reprogramming of plant defense response. These TFs are responsive to the pathogen's PAMPs/DAMPs - host's PRR protein interactions and specifically binds to the cis-elements of defense genes and regulate their expression. With this background, realizing the importance of TFs in resistance breeding, this book discusses the recent research and developments in this field for various crops.

Achievements today in plant biotechnology have already surpassed all previous expectations. Plant biotechnology, integrated with classical breeding, is now on the verge of creating the evergreen revolution' to solve the world's envisaged tripled demand for food, agricultural commodities and natural products. New biotechnologies are being continuously adapted to agricultural practices, opening new vistas for plant utilization. Plant biotechnology is changing the plant scene in three major areas: (1) growth and development control (vegetative, generative and propagation), (2) protecting plants against the ever-increasing threats of abiotic and biotic stress, (3) expanding the horizons by producing specialty foods, biochemicals and pharmaceuticals. The potential for improving plant and animal productivity and their proper use in agriculture relies largely on newly-developed DNA biotechnology and molecular markers. These techniques enable the selection of successful genotypes, better isolation and cloning of favorable traits, and the creating of transgenic organisms of importance to agriculture. These areas were extensively discussed at the 9th international congress of the International Association of Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology, Plant Biotechnology and In Vitro Biology in the 21st Century', which was held in Jerusalem in June 1998. The present book of proceedings contains the variety of scientific achievements and techniques that were presented: Basic and Applied Aspects of Growth, Development and Differentiation; Genetic Manipulations: Transformation and Gene Expression, Hybridization, Haploidization and Mutagenesis; Genetic Stability and Instability, Selection and Variability; Regulation of Primary and Secondary Metabolism; Model Systems: Cell Cycle, Transport and Signal Transduction; Biotechnology for Plant Protection: Abiotic and Biotic Stress; Biotechnology for Crop Improvement: Yield, Quality and Production of Valuable Substances; Novel Micropropagation Methods; New Markets and Commercial Applications; Intellectual Property Rights.

The book reviews the history, present, and likely future of intellectual property for plant-related inventions. It describes "what works" and "what does not work" in the current situation and analyzes whether the current intellectual property framework will be able to cope with the rise of genome editing/new breeding technologies (especially CRISPR Cas). Based on trend data, the analysis shows that the current system, including stakeholder initiatives, will most likely not be able to adapt to the technology change. It then evaluates different options for legislators to respond and proposes in detail a new holistic IP system which merges elements of the patent and the plant variety protection system into one new system.

Despite advances in the long-range electrostatic double-layer force, which depends strongly on ionic strength in water by using theoretical models such as DLVO (Derjaguin, Landau, Verwey, and Overbeek), the structure of confined water in air still remains widely unknown and has led to a variety of unexplained phenomena. This book bridges that gap by introducing a newly developed scanning probe miscroscopy (SPM) approach, which enables one to probe confined water at the molecular and atomic scale. Written by the developer of SPM, this book covers this new approach, as well as original approaches to addressing general interfacial water issues. It also introduces the cantilever-based optical interfacial force microscope (COIFM), which was invented by the author along with the methodology. The improved understanding will contribute to liquid-based nano- and bio-technologies such as lab-on-a-chip technologies, nanofluidic devices, dip-pen nanolithography, nano-oxidation, water-based granular interactions, liquid-based nanolubricants, hydration layers in biopolymers, manipulation of biomolecules, protein folding, stability of colloid suspensions, enzyme activity, swelling in clays, development of bioactive surfaces, water columns and ion channeling in membranes and scanning probe microscopy (SPM). It will also contribute to the improved performance of moving components in silicon-based micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) devices, where water plays a key role in interfacial interactions.

East Asian medicine, biomedical research, and health care policy are framed by their own set of moral and cultural commitments. Chief among these is the influence of Confucian ideas. A rich portrayal is offered of the implications of Confucian moral and ontological understandings for medical decision-making, human embryonic stem cell research, and health care financing. What is offered is a multifaceted insight into what distinguishes East Asian bioethical reflections. This volume opens with an exploration of the Confucian recognition of the family as an entity existing in its own right and which is not reducible to its members or their interests. As the essays in this volume show, this recognition of the family supports a notion of family autonomy that contrasts with Western individualistic accounts of proper medical decision-making.

This second edition volume expands on the previous edition with new and updated chapters on the latest developments in the study of yeast within the biotechnology field. The chapters in this book cover topics such as transformation protocols for genetic engineering of Saccaromyces cerevisiae and Komagataella spp.; an overview of selection markers, promoters, and strains used for metabolic engineering of S. cerevisiae, P. pastoris, and Z. bailii; the use of yeast in CRISPR/Cas9 technology; tools to study metabolic pathway in Yarrowia lypolitica; and a discussion on the "universal expression system" that is applied in a broad spectrum of fungal species. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Cutting-edge and authoritative, Yeast Metabolic Engineering: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition is a valuable resource for researchers and scientists interested in learning more about this important and developing field.

Nanorobotics and Nanodiagnostics in Integrative Biology and Biomedicine "Nanorobotics and nanodiagnostics" can be defined as a new generation of biohybrid and nanorobotics that translate fundamental biological principles into engineering design rules, or integrative living components into synthetic structures to create biorobots and nanodiagnotics that perform like natural systems. Nanorobots or nanobots are structured of a nanoscale made of individual assemblies. They can be termed as intelligent systems manufactured with self-assembly strategies by chemical, physical and biological approaches. The nanorobot can determine the structure and enhance the adaptability to the environment in interdisciplinary tasks. "Nanorobotics and nanodiagnostics" is a new generation of biohybrid that translates fundamental biological principles into engineering design rules to create biorobots that perform like natural systems. These biorobotics and diagnostics can now perform various missions to be accomplished certain tasks in the research areas such as integrative biology and biomedicine. "Nanorobotics and Nanodiagnostics in Integrative Biology and Biomedicine" sheds light on a comprehensive overview of the multidisciplinary areas that explore nanotherapeutics and nanorobotic manipulation in biology and medicine. It provides up-to-date knowledge of the promising fields of integrative biology and biomedicine for nano-assisted biorobotics and diagnostics to detect and treat diseases that will enable new scientific discoveries.