Over the last decade, interest in mycoplasmas has been greatly sti- lated by the spread of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC, in Europe and Africa and the discovery of a possible association between mycoplasmas and AIDS. During this period there has also been a recognition by control authorities and int- national organizations, including the Office International des Epizooties, that mycoplasmas are major causes of economic loss in livestock and continue to be a problem in humans as a result of a range of chronic respiratory and urogenital diseases. However, it is likely that the true significance of my- plasmas is still underestimated because of the difficulties in working with these extremely fastidious microorganisms. Advances in such laboratory technology as DNA amplification has enabled the detection of unrecoverable mycoplasmas in tissue samples and this will provide us with a better understanding of their role in disease. Important developments have also been seen in more conv- tional areas such as serological tests and media formulation enabling improved recovery and identification. Mycoplasma Protocols provides in a single volume up-to-date and easy-- follow methods for the detection, isolation, identification, and characterization of mycoplasmas, with a major emphasis on those of medical and veterinary significance. It also includes biochemical, genetic, and molecular techniques that will form the basis of understanding pathogenicity and, particularly, - hesion to host cells.

This volume includes treatments of systematics and related topics for both fungi and fungus-like organisms in four eukaryotic supergroups, as well as specialized chapters on nomenclature, techniques and evolution. These organisms are of great interest to mycologists, plant pathologists and others, including those interested in the animal parasitic Microsporidia. Our knowledge of the systematics and evolution of fungi has made great strides since the first edition of this volume, largely driven by molecular phylogenetic analyses. Consensus among mycologists has led to a stable systematic treatment that has since become widely adopted and is incorporated into this second edition, along with a great deal of new information on evolution and ecology. The systematic chapters cover occurrence, distribution, economic importance, morphology and ultrastructure, development of taxonomic theory, classification, and maintenance and culture. Other chapters deal with nomenclatural changes necessitated by revisions of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants, including the elimination of separate names for asexual states, as well as methods for preservation of cultures and specimens, character evolution and methods for ultrastructural study, the fungal fossil record, and the impact of whole genomes on fungal studies.

Food-borne bacterial pathogens encounter a number of stressors during food processing and preservation. More and more pathogens are able to adapt their physiological properties and/or genetic expression to survive these stressors and pose a risk to food safety and public health. This book provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of common food processing-associated stressors (e.g., heat, cold, acid, osmosis, and oxidation) and deals with the molecular basis of the respective bacterial stress response mechanisms (e.g., viable but nonculturable state, biofilm formation, sporulation, and cross-protection response). Additionally, various chapters cover the response mechanisms of foodborne pathogens to emerging nonthermal sterilisation technologies such as ultrasound, high-pressure processing, pulsed electric fields, ultraviolet light, irradiation and phytochemicals. Through this book we also learn about future prospects for the efficient control of stress adaption in foodborne pathogens to ensure maximum consumer safety. This book offers a valuable resource for researchers, graduate students, food process engineers and product developers in the fields of food science and microbiology.

Seeds provide an efficient means in disseminating plant virus and viroid diseases. The success of modern agriculture depends on pathogen free seed with high yielding character and in turn disease management. There is a serious scientific concern about the transmission of plant viruses sexually through seed and asexually through plant propagules. The present book provides the latest information along with the total list of seed transmitted virus and viroid diseases at global level including, the yield losses, diagnostic techniques, mechanism of seed transmission, epidemiology and virus disease management aspects. Additional information is also provided on the transmission of plant virus and virus-like diseases through vegetative propagules. It is also well known that seed transmitted viruses are introduced into new countries and continents during large-scale traffic movements through infected germplasm and plant propogules. The latest diagnostic molecular techniques in different virus-host combinations along with disease management measures have been included. The book shall be a good reference source and also a text book to the research scientists, teachers, students of plant pathology, agriculture, horticulture, life sciences, green house managers, professional entrepreneurs, persons involved in quarantines and seed companies. This book has several important features of seed transmitted virus diseases and is a good informative source and thus deserves a place in almost all university libraries, seed companies and research organizations.

Nanotechnological Applications in Virology explores the use of nanoparticles-based technologies to fight against viruses, also discussing the use of nanoparticles in the preparation of nano masks and as sanitizing agents. The role of nanotechnology against HIV, Hepatitis, Influenza, Herpes, Ebola and Zika using rapid detection and diagnostic techniques is included, as is a brief description of SARS, MERS, the novel Coronavirus, and recent advancements in its treatment process. Other sections cover the formulation of novel nano-vaccines for the treatment and control of viral infections like HIV, Hepatitis and COVID-19. Included toxicological studies of nanoparticles provide readers with a brief overview on global scenarios regarding viral infections. Nanotechnology is the present age technology, with wide usage in different areas of medical science, including drug delivery, gene therapy, antimicrobials, biosensors and bio-labelling. Nanoparticles play a competent role as an anti-infection agent and thus act as efficient antiviral agents.

This book discusses the various aspects of sustainable packaging edibles in food industry. It is divided into five main parts. The first section of the book addresses details of edible films, various sources, origin, scope and functions. Second section covers different sustainable alternatives such as seed gums, fruits and vegetable peels, sea weeds, fruits wastes, dairy by products & anti-oxidant edible packaging. This book also discusses about methods of improvements of mechanical properties of packaging edibles & their food applications, testing methods, innovations, limitations, challenges and nano edibles. It provides insights about the large quantity of wastes and by-products generated by food processing industries. Disposal of these wastes is a big problem due to their high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) & chemical oxygen demand (COD) which causes severe problem of pollution to the environment. These wastes contain large amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, minerals, various bioactive compounds and have eco-friendly packaging potential. The book emphasizes on the fact that recycling these wastes as packaging edibles are sustainable and economical. As a world foreseeing food technology revolution, this book explores the unique topics in food packaging which possesses mammoth commercial applications and environmental potential. Due to its immense scope, this book is highly useful for researchers, food scientists, students and food packaging industry experts.

Soils would not exist without the complex and heterogeneous activities of microorganisms. For the third volume of Soil Biology, an international board of renowned scientists shed light on the significant role of these organisms. The following key topics are covered: Microorganisms in bioerosion, humification, mineralization and soil aggregation; Microbial energetics and microbes in biogeochemical processes such as carbon and nitrogen cycles and phosphorus bio-availability; Interactions in the mycorrhizosphere, e.g. between mycorrhizal fungi and bacteria; Impact of microbes on plant nutrient cycling and the possible effects of transgenic rhizospheres on soil fungi; Functions of microbes in specific soil compartments such as soil surface or toxic metal polluted soils; Regulation of microbial activities in functional domains that are influenced by biotic or abiotic factors; Use of marker genes and isotopes as examples for modern techniques in soil microbiology.

Entomopathogenic bacteria (Bacillus thuringiensis and B. sphaericus) are increasingly used as biopesticides to control larval insect populations which are either agricultural or forestry pests and to reduce those which as adults are vectors of severe human diseases. This new book, the first since 1993 to address all aspects of entomopathogenic bacteria, provides undergraduate and graduate students as well as research scientists with a complete, modern view of this important group of bacteria. The authors, chosen for their sustained contributions to the field, cover both fundamental and applied research in this area. The main topics include bacterial ecology and taxonomy, toxin diversity, activity and mode of action, regulation and environment of the genes, safety and ecotoxicology, production and field application of the bacteria, and outbreaks of resistant populations. The book concludes with the most recent data obtained on transgenic biotechnology and addresses environmental impact issues.

In recent years, parasitologists have learned much about the way in which parasite biochemistry differs from that of free-living organisms. Inside the host, factors such as temperature, oxygen tension, carbon dioxide concentration and pH have important consequences for the biochemistry and physiology of the parasitic organism. Strong selection pressure therefore operates at all stages of a parasite's life cycle. The parasite's adaptational response to this pressure is the subject of this book. Under the headings "The nature of parasite adaptation", "Energy metabolism", "Digestion and uptake of nutrients", "Host immunity and parasite adaptation", "Biochemical adaptation and the magic bullet" and "Biochemical variation in parasites", present knowledge of parasite metabolism and how it reflects adaptation to particular environments is surveyed. The ways in which these adaptations may have developed during their evolution - with reference to the modern evolution of strain variations and the development of resistance to antiparasitic compounds - are explored, together with immunological aspects of the host-parasite relationship and potential metabolic targets for chemotherapy. This book should be of use to all those involved and interested in the biochemistry of parasites and its relation to their evolution, ecology, adaptation and variation. Those aspects of parasite metabolism that are attacked by anti-parasitic drugs are described, making this a useful book for those involved in the pharmaceutical industry. This book should be of interest to parasitologists and comparative biochemists.

Updated and much expanded, the Second Edition of Parasitic Protozoa is designed to be useful to physicians, veterinarians, and research scientists concerned with diseases caused by protozoa in man, and in domestic and wild animals including fish, mollusks and insects, as well as the more commonly considered vertebrate animals. Each section contains information on disease pathogens, treatment, diagnosis, and epidemiology of the diseases caused by the various protozoans. The book is not limited to these medically-oriented subjects, but treats taxonomy, morphology, and metabolism of the organisms in such a way as to be of interest to scientists and graduate students working in the field of protozoology. The entire edition, published in ten volumes, is arranged so that subjects of common interest occupy individual volumes.

This volume covers the most important parasitic protists that are known to infect humans. The pathogens discussed cause diseases like toxoplasmosis, malaria, cryptosporidiosis, leishmaniasis, amoebiasis, trichomoniasis, and giardiasis. Readers from microbiology will appreciate the special focus on protist cell biology. As demonstrated in several of the chapters, these parasites are characterized by peculiar structures and organelles that cannot be found in mammalian cells - even though both are eukaryotic. The book employs light and electron microscopy to display the changing morphology in various stages of parasitic development. In turn, the results are supplemented by transcriptome and proteome profiles that help to describe how these changes take place on a molecular level. Both researchers and clinicians from tropical medicine will find essential and practically applicable background information on these increasingly important pathogens.

This volume details the experimental approaches suitable for isolating and characterizing bacteriophages to formulating bacteriophage medicinal products and clinical application. Chapters guide readers through regulatory compliance and safety aspects of bacteriophage therapy. 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. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Bacteriophage Therapy: From Lab to Clinical Practice aims to ensure successful results in the further study of this vital field.

Recent ideas and experimental studies suggest that the relationship between parasitism and host behaviour has been a powerful shaping force in the evolution not only of behaviour patterns themselves but, through them, of morphology and population and community dynamics. This book brings together recent work across the disciplines of parasitology and animal behaviour which is revealing the fundamental role of parasitism in the evolution of behaviour. The aim is to look broadly at the relationship between parasitism and behaviour from pathology and epidemiology to strategies of exploitation and counter exploitation. In doing so the book will traverse the phylogenetic scale from enteric protozoa and nematodes to colouration and courtship of birds and human cultural traditions.

This review of recent developments in our understanding of the role of microbes in sustainable agriculture and biotechnology covers a research area with enormous untapped potential. Chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and other agricultural inputs derived from fossil fuels have increased agricultural production, yet growing awareness and concern over their adverse effects on soil productivity and environmental quality cannot be ignored. The high cost of these products, the difficulties of meeting demand for them, and their harmful environmental legacy have encouraged scientists to develop alternative strategies to raise productivity, with microbes playing a central role in these efforts. One application is the use of soil microbes as bioinoculants for supplying nutrients and/or stimulating plant growth. Some rhizospheric microbes are known to synthesize plant growth-promoters, siderophores and antibiotics, as well as aiding phosphorous uptake.

The last 40 years have seen rapid strides made in our appreciation of the diversity of environmental microbes and their possible benefits to sustainable agriculture and production. The advent of powerful new methodologies in microbial genetics, molecular biology and biotechnology has only quickened the pace of developments. The vital part played by microbes in sustaining our planet's ecosystems only adds urgency to this enquiry. Culture-dependent microbes already contribute much to human life, yet the latent potential of vast numbers of uncultured-and thus untouched-microbes, is enormous. Culture-independent metagenomic approaches employed in a variety of natural habitats have alerted us to the sheer diversity of these microbes, and resulted in the characterization of novel genes and gene products. Several new antibiotics and biocatalysts have been discovered among environmental genomes and some products have already been commercialized. Meanwhile, dozens of industrial products currently formulated in large quantities from petrochemicals, such as ethanol, butanol, organic acids, and amino acids, are equally obtainable through microbial fermentation. Edited by a trio of recognized authorities on the subject, this survey of a fast-moving field-with so many benefits within reach-will be required reading for all those investigating ways to harness the power of microorganisms in making both agriculture and biotechnology more sustainable."

This book is the third volume on Nanoscience in Food and Agriculture, published in the Sustainable Agriculture Reviews series. In this book we present ten chapters describing the synthesis and application of nanomaterials for health, food, agriculture and bioremediation.Nanomaterials with unique properties are now being used to improve food and agricultural production. Research on nanomaterials is indeed revealing new applications that were once thought to be imaginary. Specifically, applications lead to higher crop productivity with nanofertilisers, better packaging, longer food shelf life and better sensing of aromas and contaminants. These applications are needed in particular in poor countries where food is scarce and the water quality bad. Nanotechnology also addresses the age old issue of water polluted by industrial, urban and agricultural pollutants. For instance, research produces nanomaterials that clean water more efficiently than classical methods, thus yielding water for drinking and irrigation. However, some nano materials have been found to be toxic. Therefore, nanomaterials should be engineered to be safe for the environment.

Covid-19: Biomedical Perspectives, Volume 50 in the Methods in Microbiology series highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters written by an international board of authors. Individual chapters in this new release include Sensitive methods for detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, Treatment of COVID-19 using Chinese herbal medicine, Understanding how SARS-CoV-2 is evolving and its impact on COVID-19 animal models and vaccine evaluation, Methods in machine learning to identify COVID-19 literature, COVID-19 seasonal behavior and the mutational landscape of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, CRISPR use in Diagnosis and Therapy for COVID-19, and much more.

'Developmental biology' is widely understood as processes, which mainly concern embryonic animal development and differentiation of cells and tissue. It is also often defined as the timeline for the evolutionary developmental biology of eukaryotic multicellular higher organisms, i.e., plants and animals. The development of prokaryotes and lower eukaryotes in contrary has been neglected for a long time, which was the motivation for publishing this book. This book highlights one of Darwin's most important findings: Evolution is a creative, but not a conscious process. It also illustrates that this concept does not only apply to multicellular higher organisms, but affects every form of life. The reader shall find complex biochemical and genetic pathways of bacteria, yeasts or protozoa, comparable to those exhibited by plants or animals. The molecular mechanisms of dramatic genome rearrangements, recombination and horizontal gene transfer that are responsible for evolutionary adaptations are discussed. Additionally, the book covers bacteria of the genera Myxobacteriales and Caulobacterales, which are able to develop tissue-like cellular organization. The morphogenesis of entomopathogenic fungi and the endosymbiont theory are also addressed. The book is a useful introduction to the field for junior scientists, interested in bacteriology, protistology and fungal development. It is also an interesting read for advanced scientists, giving them a broader view of the field beyond their area of specialization.

This book is about different Enzymes from various sources that play an important role in the degradation of an array of pollutants with simultaneous generation of value-added products. This is an "Edited Book" which deals a comprehensive knowledge on the role of different microorganisms/their enzymes in the degradation of pollutants, wastewater treatment with simultaneous production of value added products. It also deals the current state, perspectives and various challenges associated with the microbial/enzymatic degradation of environmental pollutants. This book will provide a profound knowledge on the importance of microorganisms/their enzymes in the degradation of pollutants like pesticides, antibiotics, toxic/hazardous chemicals, endocrine disrupting chemicals/compounds with production of value-added products like bioplastics for the sustainable development of society. It covers various existing wastewater treatment approaches using microorganisms alone and /or in combination of other methods with their merits, demerits and future prospects.

Development in Wastewater Treatment Research and Processes: Microbial Ecology, Diversity and Functions of Ammonia Oxidizing Bacteria covers up-to-date research on ammonia oxidizing bacteria and their application for the removal of ammonia nitrogen from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), discussing remaining gaps in their biology and functions. In this sense, this book features the application of the newly developed omics tools in order to develop less energy intensive and cost-effective biological processes for nitrogen removal from WWTPs. This makes this book an essential and unique book for advanced students, research scientists, environmental agencies and industries involved in wastewater treatment.

An up-to-date view of molecular mechanisms for investigating microbial communities and their biological activities, this new volume of Environmental Microbiology: Methods and Protocols looks at recent advances that are having a big impact on the field such as metagenomics and other "omics" technologies, NanoSIMS, as well as stable isotope probing and more. Conveniently divided into four parts, the first section looks at methods involved in sampling environmental microorganisms, the second profiles different methods for investigating the diversity and composition of microbial communities, the third focuses on techniques for analyzing biological activities in situ, and the final section examines high throughput "omics" approaches for the characterization of environmental microbial communities. This book was written as part of the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, and, as such, chapters contain 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. Fully updated and authoritative, Environmental Microbiology: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition aims to provide an unprecedented glimpse into the structure, composition, and activity of microbial communities across diverse environments and illuminate their impact on global ecological processes.

This detailed volume explores the field of bacterial virulence and the effort to understand how microbial interaction with a host results in the pathology of a specific disease. This collection of selected protocols includes advanced molecular biology and bioinformatics methods, cell culture and organoid models of infection, as well as in vivo infection models that are useful to study the interaction of pathogens with plants, insects, avian, and mammalian hosts. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and beneficial, Bacterial Virulence: Methods and Protocols serves as an ideal guide for researchers seeking to promote and further develop the exciting and continuously evolving field of bacterial virulence. Chapter 19 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Since its discovery as the cause of infectious mononucleosis in 1964, the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been etiologically implicated in an increasing number of human diseases. Generally considered the first human oncogenic virus because of a number of studies linking it with Burkitt's lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), as well as its documented oncogenicity in nonhuman primates, EBVhas served as a model for identifying subsequent candidate oncogenic viruses and the stimulus for Evans' revision of the Henle-Koch postulates to accommodate the problems in proving viral oncogenicity in humans. Research on the role of EBV in human cancer was particularly en hanced (a) by the pioneering work of Werner and Gertrude Henle, and (b) by the coordinated efforts of the Special Virus Leukemia Program and its successors, the Special Virus Cancer Program and the Virus Cancer Program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Initiated by Dr. Frank J. Rauscher, who subsequently became director of the Ncr and is now Vice-President of the American Cancer Society, and expanded by Dr. John B. Moloney, whose contributions to cancer research were honored at this Second International Symposium on EBV and Associated Malignant Diseases, these NCI contract-sup ported programs brought together investigators from all over the world to participate in a joint effort to unravel the mystery of EBV behavior and pathogenicity. It was these programs that gave us the opportunity to work with such outstanding people as Professor Yohei Ito, to whom this book is dedicated."

This fifth volume in the series The Plant Viruses, dealing with viruses with bipartite genomes, completes the coverage of viruses with isometric parti cles and genomes consisting of single-stranded, positive-sense RNA: viruses that have tripartite and monopartite genomes of this kind were dealt with in Volumes 1 and 3, respectively. How close are the affinities among the viruses within the groupings distinguished in this way? All those with tripartite genomes are considered to be sufficiently closely related to be included in the family Bromoviridae, whereas the monopartite-genome viruses covered in Volume 3 clearly are a much more diverse collection. Affinities among the viruses with bipartite genomes are considered in Chapter 1 of this volume, along with the possible origins, advantages, and disadvantages of these ge nomes. The conclusion reached from this assessment is that the bipartite genome viruses fall into four categories, those within each category having closer affinities with viruses not included in this book than with viruses in the other categories. No evidence was found that possession of a bipartite genome gives a virus overwhelming advantages over viruses of other sorts. More probably, any advantages are largely balanced by disadvantages, and bipartite genomes may be best considered simply as an alternative design for the hereditary material of a virus."