This book is a collection of data on the tenacity in the environment of bacteria and some rickettsiae important in medicine and veterinary medicine. These data are of fundamental importance to physicians, veterinarians, epidemiologists and others when, in their practices, they are confronted with epidemics of contagious diseases or outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. At such times prompt answers are often needed to limit the problem, and thus to protect the public's health. Since data needed for such a purpose are widely distributed in the internatio nal scientific literature, the occasional desperate literature search is likely to miss some of the information that is available. This book seeks to fill that void. It lies in the nature of a compilation such as this is that it can never be totally complete. The compilation requires continual up-dating to include new information, and some currently acceptable information may have to be corrected as new data become available. However, most of the information in this compilation will never be out-of-date. The authors are always thankful for suggestions from others. Collection of the data in this book resulted from, first, several decades of studying the literature, and, second, literature searches made by the Institut fUr Dokumentationswesen in Frankfurt a. M., the Biomedi zinische Datenbank of Hoechst A. G."

Retroviruses arguably belong to the most fascinating of all viruses because of their unusual and highly efficient mode of replication involving reverse transcription and integration of the viral genome and a complex system of transcriptional and post transcriptional regulatory mechanisms. The importance of ret roviruses as human and animal pathogens has also enhanced scientific and medical interest in this diverse group of viruses and has spurred an intensive search for novel and improved antiviral agents. More recently, analysis of retroviral replication and in particular understanding the formation and composition of the virus particle has received additional attention because of the promise of retroviral vectors as vehicles for human somatic gene therapy. Many recent advances have been made in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms governing as sembly and release of infectious retrovirus particles. This book attempts to summarize these recent developments and to provide an overview of our current knowledge on retrovirus particle formation. The individual chapters of the book deal with specific steps in the pathway of retroviral morphogenesis and maturation, starting at the time when the components of the virus have been synthesized within the infected cell and ending once the infectious virion has been released from the cell. An introductory chapter provides a comparative description of the structure and morphology of various retroviruses."

In 1976 the International Committee on Taxonomy of Vi ruses (ICTV) created the family Iridoviridae to encompass several different vertebrate and invertebrate viruses that did not fit into any of the other established groups. The unifying features of this new family were (1) polyhedral symmetry; (2) large (approximately 170 kilobase pairs), lin ear, double-stranded DNA genomes; and (37) a cytoplas mic site of replication. The name "iridovirus" was derived from the observa tion that larvae infected with many of the insect viruses, as well as purified pellets of these viruses, glowed with a blue or green iridescence - presumably due to the Bragg effect of the viral crystals. However, none of the vertebrate "iridoviruses" displayed this particular characteristic. An attempt was made to substitute the more descriptive name of "icosahedral cytoplasmic deoxyribovirus," but not only was this term too unwieldy, it also did not conform to the latinized nomenclature the ICTV wished to adopt. So, for both historical and esthetic reasons, "Iridoviridae" was adopted as a family name, with Iridovirus as the genus represented by the type 1 iridescent insect virus, Tipula iri descent virus. At the 1982 ICTV Meeting, enough biochem ical data had accumulated to permit the establishment of the following five genera in the family Iridoviridae: English vernacular International Type species name name 1. Small iridescent Iridovirus Tipula iridescent virus insect virus (Type 1) 2. Large iridescent Chloriridovirus Mosquito iridescent insect virus virus (Type 2) 3."

For medical scientists, biologists and geographers interest- ed in geomedical problems the helminthiases can be a fas- cinating object of research. Their distribution is due to the in part very complicated parasite life cycles which fre- quently depend on the presence of intermediate hosts. The search for the causes of the distribution of helminthiases requires to take into account not only such geofactors as affect the parasite developmental stages outside man but go beyond this and include the entire web of factors which contribute to the conditions for the distribution of their in- termediate hosts. Last, but by no means least, it is, however, man who through his customs and habits, his settlements and dwellings, his population density and, above all, his interference in the environment, determines the distri- bution of helminthiases. The frequency, persistence and areal expansions are a consequence of the interplay and in- teraction of all the geofactors. The aim of every geomedi- cal analysis must be to prove the causes of their distri- bution through a chain of causation which has no gaps. A classic example of such a chain had already been set out in the 1920s when Ernst Rodenwaldt investigated the occur- rence of brugiasis in the Serajoe Delta on Java, and it is Rodenwaldt's analysis which has served as a model for this work. The idea of producing the monograph presented here arose from the Geomedical Monograph Series edited by Helmut 1. Jusatz.

The Brescia division of the Italian Association of Blood donors (AVIS Brescia) celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1985. The idea of organizing a Postgraduate Course on Viral Hepatitis on this occasion developed for ob vious reasons. Viral hepatitis is a major concern in blood transfusion and Brescia is located in the region of Lombardy characterized by a high HBsAg carrier rate in its population. Thus it seemed timely to convene a scientific forum in which the present state of knowledge on viral hepatitis would be summarized. This would allow us to review the tremendous progress achieved over the last 15 years, and also to focus on latest developments which pave the way for future investigation. The publication of the proceedings of this meeting was considered use ful, since it provides a tangible reminder of a comprehensive overview of the broad topic of viral hepatitis, its complications, and its connections with the practice of blood transfusion. The organizers were fortunate in obtaining the active participation of recognized experts in a variety of hepatological diSCiplines. Their contri butions summarized the more mature areas of knowledge in the field, in cluding clinical aspects, epidemiology and morphology, as well as newer developments in the forefront of hepatitis research, like new diagnostic techniques, oncogenesis, treatment, and vaccination."

On the occasion of a research visit to Thailand in my capacity as a member of the governing board of the South Asia Institute of the University of Heidelberg, I saw for the first time the severe clinical picture of dengue with haemorrhagic symptoms among Thai children. This visit had been made possible by Profes sor Dr. med. Dr. rer. nat. Ouay Ketusinh of Bangkok, to whom I wish to express my sincere thanks in this place. In 1972 the German medical literature - the periodical Medizinische Klinik, vol. 87, pp. 152-56, to be precise - had drawn attention to this new phenomenon in the disease panorama of South East Asia, indicating a change in dengue fever from being a relatively benign tropical dis ease to a form having serious clinical and epidemiological ramifications. During the ten years following my first publication the new clinical picture, described as "dengue haemorrhagic fever," has become a standard component in the Thailand's system of notifiable diseases. So too, the World Health Orga nization publishes regular reports in its Weekly Records. On March 30/31, 1981, its Regional Office for South East Asia convened a special conference in New Delhi, thus emphasizing the significance of the diffusion of this new clini cal picture in the states of South East Asia."

This book brings together various contributions aimed at the elucida tion of the structural and functional organization of the bacterial nucleoid. Most of these papers, spanning the fields of physical chemistry through biochemistry to genetics, were presented at the session on bac terial chromatin during the Symposium "Selected topics on chromatin structure and function" held at the University of Camerino, Italy, at the end of May 1985. Times when the bacterial DNA was regarded as "naked" or, at most, complexed with polyamines, and when the absence of histones and organized chromatin was considered to be a distinct feature of the pro karyotic cell, now appear remote. Our concepts of how DNA is packaged in bacteria are changing rapidly. Studies on the structure of the bacterial nucleoid are not new. Recently, however, investigations in this field have flourished again, leading to some important contributions such as the elucidation of the three-dimensional structure of what appears to be the major protein constituent of the bacterial nucleoid or the development of methods to titrate the extent of DNA supercoiling within the bacterial cell."

Rapid progress continues to be made in understanding the molecular and cellular events that comprise B-Iymphocyte differentiation. This is due in part to the high level of inter est shown by many investigators from diverse disciplines, who find this subject suitable for addressing some of the fundamental issues of immunobiology. B-cell developmen tal models are being extensively used to investigate cell-cell interactions, molecular mediators of differentiation and proliferation, differential onset of gene programs, and gene rearrangement and expression, as well as the generation of the immune response itself. Not surprisingly, increased understanding of B-cell differentiation sometimes results from the application of new techniques that permit greater insight into the cells comprising the system and the genetic mechanisms by which these cells express their differentiative potential. However, experimental strategies based upon the novel application of established technologies have also led to the clarification of many issues, as well as to the discov ery of previously unrecognized problems. One problem, well recognized by those active in the field, is how to keep up with significant developments as they appear. The purpose of this book, part of a series devoted to analysing current issues in biology, is to help overcome this problem. No attempt at comprehensive cov erage of all of the issues has been made. Rather, a more thorough analysis of a few topics is presented."

The third component of complement, C3, is one of the most versatile proteins and an important participant in immune surveillance and immune response pathways. Its multifunctio nality is based on its ability to interact specifically with multiple serum complement proteins, cell surface receptors, and mem brant;-associated regulatory proteins. One of its most intriguing strategies of interaction with cell surfaces is the covalent binding of activated C3 through the internal thioester. The field has expanded over the past 10 years and a wealth of information has accumulated. C3 from various species and many of the human C3 binding proteins have been cloned and expressed. Numerous cellular responses mediated by the diffe rent fragments of C3 have been described. The findings that C3 interacts in a ligand-receptor-like fashion with proteins of nonself origin such as the gC of herpes simplex virus, a 70-kDa protein from Candida albicans, proteins from Epstein-Barr virus, etc. has opened a new field of investigation. The papers assembled in this volume summarize the wealth of data on the various aspects of the C3 interactions; together they bring to the reader new information on the chemistry, molecular gene tics, biology, and pathophysiology of C3 and C3-binding proteins. Emphasis is given to structural features as they relate to functions. Spring 1989 JOHN D. LAMBRIS, HANS J. MULLER-EBERHARD Table of Contents J. E. VOLANAKIS: Participation of C3 and Its Ligands in Complement Activation . . . . . . . . . . . 1 S. R. BARNUM, G. FEY, and B. F. TACK: Biosynthesis and Genetics of C3 . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interest in the lentivirus subfamily of retroviruses has greatly intensified due to the realization that HIV-1 and HIV-2 are members of this previously obscure group. Related lentiviruses have now been isolated from sheep, goats, horses, cattle, cats, monkeys, and humans. This issue of CTMI is devoted to the lentiviruses of nonhuman primates, referred to as simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs). The SIVs provide valuable tools for our quest to understand and control the HIVs, which are obviously important new human pathogens. Included in this volume are discussions of the distribution and molecular phylogeny of the SIVs and their use as animal models for the study of AIDS pathogenesis, and the chapters clearly illustrate how SIV models are contributing to our understanding of the ability of host immune responses to control infection at least temporarily and the ability of virus to evade these host immune defenses.

M. B. A. OLDSTONE Viruses are generally studied either because they cause significant human, animal or plant disease or for their utility as materials to probe a basic phenomenon in biology, chemistry, genetics or molecular biology. Arenaviruses are unusually interesting in that they occupy both of these categories. Arenaviruses cause severe human diseases known primarily as the hemor rhagic fevers occurring in South and Latin America (Bolivia: Machupo virus and Argentina: Junin virus) and in Africa (Lassa virus). Because such viruses produce profound disability and may kill the persons they infect, they are a source of economic hardship in the countries where they are prevalent. Further, they provide new problems for health care personnel owing to the narrowing of the world as visitors from many countries increasingly travel to and from these endemic areas. In addition, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) can infect humans worldwide, although the illness is most often less disabling than those elicited by other arenaviruses. Yet LCMV is likely of greater concern to non-arena-virologists and experimentalists using tissue culture or animals, i. e. , workers in molecular biology, cancer research, virology, immunobiology, etc. , because normal appearing cultured cells or tissues and animals used for research may be persistently infected with LCMV without manifesting clinical disease or cytopathology and transmit that infection to laboratory workers (reviewed OWSTONE and PETERS 1978). For example, HINMAN et al.

The present volume of "Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology" is a series of papers on subjects that are relevant to the growing use of 'wild mice' in immunological, microbiological and genetical research. 'Wild mice' is a jargonistic term that is used chiefly in the laboratory to refer to the naturally living forms of house mice (Mus musculus) and also other species closely related to M. musculus. This group of species is designated by systematists as the genus Mus. Immunologists began 20 years ago to study the polymorphisms of 1mmunoglobulins and major histocompatibility complex antigens in wild mice. An extrordinary extension of the highly polymorphic array of phenotypes known in inbred mice was encountered. Breeding stocks of wild mice were brought into the laboratory. This included not only M. musculus but a)so many of the available species in the genus Mus-from Southeast Asia ~nd Europe. This availability led to other comparisons of 'wild' and inbred mice and the discovery of other new and interesting phenotypes and genotypes. It became apparent that inbred strains of mice provided only a limited window for viewing the genetic diversity of Mus musculus.

To the entomologist all insects have six legs; the layman tends to use the term "insect" to include the eight-legged spiders and mites. All these creatures are correctly classified as arthropods. Many thousands of the hundreds of thousands of recognised species of arthropods are found in the human environment-domestic, occupational and rec reational. Those species which are obligate parasites of man, the human scabies mite and the head and body lice, produce familiar clinical syndromes. They remain important in medical practice and have been the subject of a great deal of recent research. This is beginning to throw much light on the immunological mechanisms which largely determine the reactions of the host. Dr. Alexander has provided a detailed survey of this work. The wasps, bees, ants and other Hymenoptera which may sting man in self-defence can cause painful, even fatal reactions. The recent work on this important subject has also been thoroughly reviewed. Every dermatologist of experience will admit that he sees many patients in whom he makes a diagnosis of "insect bites," if he has the confidence to do so, or of "papular urticaria" or "prurigo" when he lacks such confidence, mainly because he is at a loss to know which arthropod is likely to be implicated. In his survey of the enormous literature in the entomological, public health and dermatology journals Dr. Alexander has provided an invaluable guide in which the solutions to these clinical mysteries can be sought."

Current Topics in Medical Mycology, is intended to summarize current research areas in medical mycology for medical my- cologists and other scientists who are working in microbiology and immunology. Topics to be included in each volume will serve as contemporary reviews, summaries of current advance- ments and future directions, and mechanisms to enhance the interdisciplinary use of medically important fungi in under- standing pathogenesis, epidemiology, mycotoxins, taxonomy, and other areas where basic, applied, and clinical sciences are used. Michael R. McGinnis v Contents Series Preface v Contributors ix Ultrastructural Correlates of Antimycotic Treatment MARCEL BORGERS 2 Soluble Polysaccharides of Cryptococcus neoformans ROBERT CHERNIAK 40 3 Tinea Imbricata RODERICK J. HAY 55 4 Adhesion and Association Mechanisms of Candida albicans MICHAEL J. KENNEDY 73 5 Peptide Transport in Candida albicans: Implications for the Development of Antifungal Agents FRED NAIDER and JEFFREY M. BECKER 170 6 Epidemiology of Coccidioidomycosis DEMOSTHENES PAPPAGIANIS 199 7 Immune Response to Paracoccidioides brasiliensis in Human and Animal Hosts ANGELA RESTREPO M. 239 vii Vlll Contents 8 Morphogenetic Transformation of Fungi MAXWELL G. SHEPHERD 278 9 Epidemiology of Nosocomial Fungal Infections DAVID J. WEBER and WILLIAM A. RUTALA 305 Melanins and Their Importance in 10 Pathogenic Fungi MICHAEL H. WHEELER and ALOIS A. BELL 338 11 Cytochrome P-450 of Fungi: Primary Target for Azole Antifungal Agents Yuzo YOSHIDA 388 Index 419 Contributors JEFFREY M. BECKER, Ph.D.

In recent years, papillomaviruses in general and human papillo maviruses in particular have been recognized as possible agents of important diseases, including some forms of human cancer. The purpose of this book is to present a concise panorama of the pre sent status of knowledge of this topic. This knowledge is as impor tant to molecular biologists and virologists as it is to clinicians and pathologists. To bridge the gap among these diverse groups of investigators, we conceived of a book covering a broad spectrum of the basic scientific, clinical, and pathological aspects of diseases associated with papillomaviruses. Although the principal thrust of this book is directed at human papillomaviruses, fundamental knowledge of animal viruses is essential to the current understand ing of the molecular mechanisms of cell transformation. For this reason, a chapter on animal viruses has also been included. Some of the experimental work having to do with the elucidation of transformation and other aspects of interaction between the virus and the cell cannot be based on human papillomaviruses because of a lack of suitable experimental models. Hence, some of the chapters dealing with fundamental aspects of viral molecular biol ogy are based on animal models. We were very fortunate in having persuaded a number of distin guished colleagues to contribute to this work."

The fourth workshop on Mechanisms in B-Ce11 Neoplasia was held in Bethesda. Maryland. at the National Institutes of Health on March 24. 25 and 26. 1986. The meeting was attended by approximately 150 participants and 58 presentations were given. The purpose of these workshops and the yearly publications has been to provide a means for exchanging the rapidly developing information in this field and to bring maJor problems into focus. Edited trans- cripts of the 1983 and 1985 workshops were published by Editiones Roche Bas1e, Switzerland. Papers brought to the 1984 workshop were published in Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, Vol. 113. Numerous retrovira1 recombinant viral constructs are now in general use in a variety of test systems, both in vivo and in vitro. These are proving to have interesting bio10gica1-prQperties. ------- Kecent1y developed systems for inducing B cell tumors are described: 1) The development of spontaneous ~-ce11 tumors in transgenic mice carrying deregulated mlGBP genes and the Ig heavy chain promoter; 2) a method for inducing *p1asmacytomas in BAL~/c mice with short latent periods of ca 70 days by infecting pristane treated mice with retroviruses carrying various types of deregulated mlGBP genes; 3) induction of pre-B cell tumors with erbB containing recombinant retroviruses; 4) induction of B-ce11 and other tumors by infection of neonates with recombinant retroviruses. Several retrovira1 constructs containing mlGBP sequences do not induce B-ce11 tumors in pristane conditioned mice *.

During the past few decades we have witnessed an era of remarkable growth in the field of molecular biology. In 1950 very little was known of the chemical constitution of biological systems, the manner in which information was transmitted from one organism to another, or the extent to which the chemical basis of life is unified. The picture today is dramatically different. We have an almost bewildering variety of information detailing many different aspects oflife at the molecular level. These great advances have brought with them some breath-taking insights into the molecular mechanisms used by nature for replicating, distributing and modifying biological information. We have learned a great deal about the chemical and physical nature of the macro molecular nucleic acids and proteins, and the manner in which carbohydrates, lipids and smaller molecules work together to provide the molecular setting of living systems. It might be said that these few decades have replaced a near vacuum of informa tion with a very large surplus. It is in the context of this flood of information that this series of monographs on molecular biology has been organized. The idea is to bring together in one place, between the covers of one book, a concise assessment of the state of the subject in a well-defined field. This will enable the reader to get a sense of historical perspective what is known about the field today - and a description of the frontiers of research where our knowledge is increasing steadily."

G. G. Jackson The pathogenesis of bacterial infection defines the dynamics at an interface of ecologic association of bacteria and host. First, it occurs at the portal of initial contact with a per missive target cell. The infected cell provides either a passive or a specific receptor for the bacterium or its products, to gether with ligands and an environment of helper and inhibiting factors. The result is bacterial replication to produce an im balance of a potentially commensal relation which, under other defined conditions, would be optimal for the survival of both the host and bacterial cells. Virulence and pathogenesis are both absolute and relative terms. They must be interpreted strictly according to the circumstances of site-specific inter actions of bacterial and host cells, membrane composition, structure, characteristics, and environmental substances. The bacteria themselves may have, acquire, or switch on or off under certain conditions, the products or properties that produce cellular damage that we recognize as virulence. Another result of bacterial infection may be to stimulate a normal host cell function to perform at a pathophysiologic level, causing illness that we recognize as virulence. A third marker of virulence may be the ability to invade a cell or tissue barrier and produce a pathologic effect at a site that is remote from the portal of commensal association or pathologic entry."

The contacts between man and nonhuman primates enable the transmission of mic roorganisms from one species to the other. Such contact may occur at quite differ ent levels: man and nonhuman primates may share the same ecosystem including the presence of vectors in the countries of origins of monkeys and apes; the animals are captured to be sold or used for food; field researchers have to stay near the ani mals in the wild; an uncontrolled human population gets close enough to almost touch the animals in zoological gardens around the world; pet owners establish bodily contact and finally researchers doing surgery or necropsies are exposed to an increased number of pathogens liberated from the organs and body fluids. Usually monkeys and apes are more threatened with catching the microorgan isms indigenous to man than vice versa, but nevertheless outbreaks of true zoonoses with nonhuman primates as the source of infection have occurred. Also the retrans mission of originally human pathogens via nonhuman primates to man may pose a considerable risk to human health. Unfortunately the information on the different agents transmissible between man and his relatives is too disseminated for practical use, as it involves quite differ ent scientific disciplines such as virology, bacteriology, parasitology, primatology, laboratory animal science etc. It seemed therefore necessary to compile the current knowledge concerning this topic in a single publication. Human infections of simian origin may be caused by several viruses, bacteria, fungi or endoparasites. Ectoparasites, in comparison, are of little importance.

The proliferation of information on rotaviruses in the twenty years since their description as human pathogens has made it difficult to keep up with the latest developments in the field. Numerous aspects of rotavirus biology have been addressed in reviews, but these have been infrequent and quite selective in the material covered. The time appeared right to attempt to gather, into a single source, an overview of what we have learned. This volume is the result of that attempt. I hope that the reader will find in this single source, the core of information covering our current state of knowledge. I acknowledge my debt to the authors of the various chapters, for it is they who performed the tedious process of reviewing the literature and synthesizing and organizing it into concise works. R.F. RAMIG Contents Introduction and Overview R.F. RAMIG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Structure of Rotavirus B.V.V. PRASAD and W. CHIU .................... 9 The Rotavirus Genome U. DESSELBERGER and M.A. MCCRAE . . . . . . . . . . . 31 . . Rotavirus Protein Structure and Function G.W. BOTH, AR. BELLAMY, and D.B. MITCHELL 67 Rotavirus Replication J.T. PATTON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 107 . . . . . . .

Malignant growth of cells is often characterized by disorganization of tissue structure, abnormal blood vessel development, and insuffi cient vascular supply. As a consequence, the cancer cells grow in a three-dimensional pattern in atypical microenvironments which include physical, chemical, and nutritional stresses. Necrosis often develops some distance away from the blood vessels. In association with an inherent instability in malignant cell populations, and also because of the changing micromilieu, significant cellular heteroge neity emerges with regard to various phenotypic characteristics. Both biological behavior and responses to therapeutic agents can be affected. A variety of in vitro and in vivo experimental models exist for research on properties of cancer cells during growth. The multicell spheroid model was developed as a system of intermediate complexity in which three dimensional growth of cells enhances cell-cell interactions and creates micro environments that simulate the conditions in intervascular microregions of tumors or microme tastatic foci. Spheroids may change their cellular characteristics with changing environments during growth. These can be studied under controlled conditions in vitro. Interest in details of experimental methods for this model system stimulated the organization of the First International Conference in Rochester, NY in 1980, the Proceedings of which were summarized in Cancer Research in 1981. Since then there has been a rapid increase in the use of this model system, and increased research on the significance of cell-cell and cell-microenvironment interactions in biology in general."

Fish lymphocystis disease virus (FLDV) has been tentatively classified as a separate genus of the iridovirus family. Iridoviruses were previously called icosahedral cytoplasmic deoxyriboviruses (ICDV). The Iridoviridae family contains four genera including lymphocystis disease virus (proposed name Lymphocystivirus, Willis, 1989 (1". FLDV is a causative agent of lymphocystis disease (LD) which frequently appears in Pleuronectidae (flatfish) such as Pleuronectes platessa (plaice), Platichtys flesus (flounder), Limanda limanda (dab), and Trigla gurnardus (gurnard). Fish lymphocystis disease is characterized by papilloma-like lesions, which can be induced experimentally in Lepomis macrochirus (bluegill) (2) and by subdermal injection of plaice and flounder (3). The mechanisms of this nonmalignant tumor induction are unknown. Since the discovery of LD in 1874 by Lowe (4), attempts have been made to isolate and propagate FLDV in vitro with limited success (5-7). As a first step towards understanding of the underlying mechanisms of this infectious disease the structure and properties of the causal virus must be eluciated. These basical molecular biological studies provide new facilities for investigation of virus host interactions which is necessary for understanding the molecular mechanisms of the viral pathogenesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 30 fish with LD lesions caught near the Doggerbank areas were analyzed individually, including 20 flounders, six dabs, and four plaice. Virions of FLDV from LD lesions of each species of fish were isolated, purified, and examined by electron microscopy as 205 described previously (8). Fig.

What do the following have in common: the promise of Botox as the key to everlasting youthful looks; E. coli O157 hamburger disease; a mysterious illness which killed 35 heroin users in 2000; and the assassination by poisoned umbrella-tip of a Bulgarian dissident in the 1970s? The answer is that all of these are caused by toxins, the powerful biological poisons released by bacteria and some plants.
In Toxin, Alistair Lax reveals the panoply of ways in which bacterial toxins overcome the defenses of our cells. He explains how they work, how they are so successful in causing major diseases, the terrible human impact they have had, and how apparently "new" diseases arise from them. He also discusses how we can combat toxins, and how we can harness their actions for beneficial purposes. Enlivened by the very human story of the persistence, rivalries, and insights from which modern microbiology grew, Toxin is the first widely accessible account of this exciting and important topic.