The book discusses ways to overcome the side effects of using hydrocarbon-based products as energy sources. Hydrocarbons produce raw crude oil waste of around 600,000 metric tons per annum, with a range of uncertainty of 200,000 metric tons per year. The various chapters in this book focus on approaches to reduce these wastes through the application of potential microbes, in a process called bioremediation. The book is a one-stop reference resource on the methods, mechanisms and application of the bio-composites, in the laboratory and field. Focusing on resolving a very pressing environmental issue, it not only provides details of existing challenges, but also offers deeper insights into the possibility of solving problems using hydrocarbon bioremediation.

This book examines aspects of paediatric infectious diseases written by leading authorities in the field. It is based on a lecture given at the seventh Infection and Immunity in Children (IIC) course held at the end of June 2009 at Keble College, Oxford.

"Advances in Immunology, " a long-established and highly respected publication, presents current developments as well as comprehensive reviews in immunology. Articles address the wide range of topics that comprise immunology, including molecular and cellular activation mechanisms, phylogeny and molecular evolution, and clinical modalities. Edited and authored by the foremost scientists in the field, each volume provides up-to-date information and directions for future research.

This volume presents various laboratory protocols, reviews, specific techniques and applications related to Schizosaccharomyces pombe. 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 practical, Schizosaccharomyces pombe: Methods and Protocols hopes to serve as an excellent resource for faculty researchers, undergraduate student researchers, graduate researchers, government, and the medical community.

Nature helps... of course at first itself by developing measures that give bacteria, fungi, plants and animals a chance to be successful in their struggle for life. As a latecomer on Earth, Homo sapiens was gifted with some droplets of the divine spirit of recognition and thus became able to observe, to analyse and recombine skills of other living beings and to use them for his overwhelming career over the last 10,000 years.Of course fungi, plants, animals and even bacteria were primarily used by mankind as food or as lifestyle products such as beer, but soon it became clear that there was much more potential hidden in these organisms and that they could be used for other purposes, too. Extracts of plants and fungi were recognized as powerful remedies, as medicines, as insecticides or acarizides, as repellents against parasites or even as weapons, e.g. when poisonous compounds from frogs or plants were applied to arrowheads. Over the last 110 years the pharmaceutical industry has often simulated nature by analyzing complex organic substances taken from living organisms and then producing by synthesis absolutely pure compounds, which mostly consisted of only one single active substance. These products had the advantage of acting against precisely one target and thus produced fewer possible side effects than the complex plant extracts. However, the more serious side effect was that disease agents could develop resistances to pure medicinal products much more easily. Thus after 70 years of excellent prospects for chemotherapy, some dark clouds appeared and quickly gathered, so that several therapeutic remedies now no longer work. Therefore in many countries - especially in those where the pure chemotherapeutics are too expensive for the poor population - the cry "back to nature" is becoming louder and louder. This has led to an enormous increase of studies that again use natural extracts as remedies in the fight against diseases. The present book summarizes examples of promising aspects in a broad spectrum of applications and shows how extracts derived from bacteria, marine organisms, plants or even animals may help to treat infectious diseases, how such organisms may keep away parasites and pests from the bodies of plants or animals, including humans, and how they can be used directly to aid in diagnosis, promote wound healing and even to help catch criminals. These 15 chapters offer not only basic research on these different fields, but also show how useful and effective products can be developed from research.

Published since 1953, "Advances in Virus Research" covers a diverse range of in-depth reviews providing a valuable overview of the current field of virology.
The impact factor for 2006 is 3.48 placing it 7th in the highly competitive category of virology.
* Contributions from leading authorities
* Informs and updates on all the latest developments in the field

Published since 1959, "Advances in Applied Microbiology" continues to be one of the most widely read and authoritative review sources in microbiology.
The series contains comprehensive reviews of the most current research in applied microbiology. Recent areas covered include bacterial diversity in the human gut, protozoan grazing of freshwater biofilms, metals in yeast fermentation processes and the interpretation of host-pathogen dialogue through microarrays.
Eclectic volumes are supplemented by thematic volumes on various topics, including Archaea and sick building syndrome. Impact factor for 2006: 1.96.
* Contributions from leading authorities and industry experts
* Informs and updates on all the latest developments in the field
* Reference and guide for scientists and specialists involved in advancements in applied microbiology

This is the fourth updated and revised edition of a well-received book that emphasises on fungal diversity, plant productivity and sustainability. It contains new chapters written by leading experts in the field. This book is an up-to-date overview of current progress in mycorrhiza and association with plant productivity and environmental sustainability. The result is a must hands-on guide, ideally suited for agri-biotechnology, soil biology, fungal biology including mycorrhiza and stress management, academia and researchers. The topic of this book is particularly relevant to researchers involved in mycorrhiza, especially to food security and environmental protection. Mycorrhizas are symbioses between fungi and the roots of higher plants. As more than 90% of all known species of plants have the potential to form mycorrhizal associations, the productivity and species composition and the diversity of natural ecosystems are frequently dependent upon the pre sence and activity of mycorrhizas. The biotechnological application of mycorrhizas is expected to promote the production of food while maintaining ecologically and economically sustainable production systems.

Bacteria were the first life on Earth. But what do we really know about them? In this captivating, science-driven book, you'll learn everything you need to know about these often misunderstood-and incredibly interesting-microbes. In this engagingly written and scientifically rigorous book, author and scientist Ludger Wess introduces an eclectic collection of impressive, useful, weird, and dangerous bacterial species. Wess reveals everything he knows about bacteria, including their ability to survive almost anywhere, to "sleep" for millions of years before becoming active again, to maintain their own immune systems (a discovery that has led to medical breakthroughs for humans), and to-hypothetically-live on other planets. In part two, Wess moves on to his curious compendium of bacterial species, presenting fifty fascinating portraits grouped by useful categories: bacteria that are record holders, extreme-habitat dwellers, unusual consumers, people-helpers, and people-harmers. Beautiful black-and-white illustrations accompany each portrait. At the end of this engrossing read, Wess recognizes how much we still don't know about bacteria. But by starting here, we can come closer to understanding the first life on Earth.

Due to the possibility that petroleum supplies will be exhausted in the next decades to come, more and more attention has been paid to the production of bacterial pl- tics including polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), polylactic acid (PLA), poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), biopolyethylene (PE), poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT), and poly(p-phenylene) (PPP). These are well-studied polymers containing at least one monomer synthesized via bacterial transformation. Among them, PHA, PLA and PBS are well known for their biodegradability, whereas PE, PTT and PPP are probably less biodegradable or are less studied in terms of their biodegradability. Over the past years, their properties and appli- tions have been studied in detail and products have been developed. Physical and chemical modifications to reduce their cost or to improve their properties have been conducted. PHA is the only biopolyester family completely synthesized by biological means. They have been investigated by microbiologists, molecular biologists, b- chemists, chemical engineers, chemists, polymer experts, and medical researchers for many years. PHA applications as bioplastics, fine chemicals, implant biomate- als, medicines, and biofuels have been developed. Companies have been est- lished for or involved in PHA related R&D as well as large scale production. It has become clear that PHA and its related technologies form an industrial value chain in fermentation, materials, feeds, and energy to medical fields.

Fungal pathogens pose an on-going and serious threat for poikilotherms and homeotherms, and can cause a broad spectrum of diseases ranging from innocuous to life-threatening. In addition, long-term exposure to some mycotoxigenic moulds can lead to mycotoxicoses in human and animals. Given the expanding population of immune compromised hosts, the list of fungal opportunists grows longer every year. Moreover, antifungal resistance, drug-related toxicity and our limited arsenal of antifungals have exacerbated the situation. To address these problems, strategies such as the identification of novel targets, use of the structure-activity relationship in rational drug design, development of new formulations, modification of existing antifungals to combat resistance, and bioavailability enhancement are called for. For the reader's convenience, this book has been divided into three sections. The first six chapters of Section I provide a timely review of mycoses, from endemic to cosmopolitan and from generalized to specific, while both chapters of Section II focus on risks associated with mycotoxins. In closing, the two chapters of Section III describe potential antifungal leads and drug candidates based on phytochemicals and coumarin scaffold.

The discovery that most of the chronic infections in humans, including the oral, lung, vaginal and foreign body-associated infections, are biofilm-based, has prompted the need to design new and properly focused preventive and therapeutic strategies for these diseases. Microbial Biofilms: Methods and Protocols provides a detailed description of the currently available methods and protocols to investigate bacterial and fungal biofilms, exhaustively illustrated and critically annotated in 25 chapters written by authors well known for their experience in the respective fields. The book has joined together microbiologists and specialists in infectious diseases, hygiene and public health involved in exploring different aspects of microbial biofilms as well as in designing new methods and/or developing innovative laboratory protocols. Written in the 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 protocols and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and easily accessible, Microbial Biofilms: Methods and Protocols presents readers with the most established and validated experimental procedures to investigate microbial biofilms.

Published since 1953, "Advances in Virus Research" covers a diverse range of in-depth reviews providing a valuable overview of the current field of virology.
The impact factor for 2006 is 3.48 placing it 7th in the highly competitive category of virology.

This book will cover both the evidence for biofilms in many chronic bacterial infections as well as the problems facing these infections such as diagnostics and treatment regimes. A still increasing interest and emphasis on the sessile bacterial lifestyle biofilms has been seen since it was realized that that less than 0.1% of the total microbial biomass lives in the planktonic mode of growth. The term was coined in 1978 by Costerton et al. who defined the term biofilm for the first time.In 1993 the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) recognised that the biofilmmode of growth was relevant to microbiology. Lately many articles have been published on the clinical implications of bacterial biofilms. Both original articles and reviews concerning the biofilm problem are available.

Published since 1959, "Advances in Applied Microbiology" continues to be one of the most widely read and authoritative review sources in Microbiology.
The series contains comprehensive reviews of the most current research in applied microbiology. Recent areas covered include bacterial diversity in the human gut, protozoan grazing of freshwater biofilms, metals in yeast fermentation processes and the interpretation of host-pathogen dialogue through microarrays.
Eclectic volumes are supplemented by thematic volumes on various topics including Archaea and Sick Building Syndrome . Impact factor for 2006: 1.96."

This detailed book contains chapters using unbiased approaches such as chemical and transposon mutagenesis, as well as a protocol for allelic exchange, to make targeted mutants in Staphylococcus, as generating mutants of this bacteria can be accomplished in many ways, depending on the intended changes. Using these methods, the authors have been successful at making mutants that span individual single-nucleotide changes in the chromosome to whole genome mutant libraries. The latter strategy provides a useful tool for high-throughput screening, while single nucleotide changes are an elegant way of teasing apart the importance of single nucleotides in gene expression or to create specific amino acid substitutions to examine protein function. Written for the Methods in Molecular Biology series, 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. Practical and authoritative, The Genetic Manipulation of Staphylococci: Methods and Protocols serves as a vital resource and guide to scientists in the Staphylococcus community as they pursue their studies on these bacteria.

In this book, researchers and practitioners working in the field present the major promises of algae biotechnology and they critically discuss the challenges arising from applications. Based on this assessment, the authors explore the great scientific, industrial and economic potential opened up by algae biotechnology. The first part of the book presents recent developments in key enabling technologies, which are the driving force to unleash the enormous potential of algae biotechnology. The second part of the book focuses on how practical applications of algae biotechnology may provide new solutions to some of the grand challenges of the 21st century. Algae offer great potential to support the building of a bio-based economy and they can contribute new solutions to some of the grand challenges of the 21st century. Despite significant progress, algae biotechnology is yet far from fulfilling its potential. How to unleash this enormous potential is the challenge that the own field is facing. New cultivation technologies and bioprocess engineering allow for optimization of the operation strategy of state-of the art industrial-scale production systems and they reduce the production costs. Parallel to this, new molecular technologies for genetic and metabolic engineering of (micro)algae develop quickly. The optimization of existing biochemical pathways or the introduction of pathway components makes high-yield production of specific metabolites possible. Novel screening technologies including high-throughput technologies enables testing of extremely large numbers of samples and, thus, allow for large scale modelling of biomolecular processes, which would have not been possible in the past. Moreover, profitable production can demand for integrated biorefining, which combines consecutive processes and various feedstocks to produce both transportation fuel, electric energy and valuable chemicals.

This volume reviews the current understanding of the taxonomy, disease syndromes, genetics, biology, and pathogenic factors of Histophilus somni, as well as the host immune response to this pathogen. H. somni is one of the most important bacterial pathogens in cattle and other ruminants, and its virulence factors are highly conserved with Haemophilus influenzae and other members of the Pasteurellaceae. H. somni has been recognized as a major cause of thrombotic meningoencephalitis, respiratory disease syndromes, myocarditis, reproductive disease syndromes, polyarthritis, mastitis, ocular disease, and septicemia. The only known habitats of H. somni are the mucosal surfaces of ruminants, making this bacterium an opportunistic pathogen. Although it is capable of causing inflammation at systemic sites and is toxic to epithelial and phagocytic cells, the bacterium's wide array of virulence factors act primarily as a defense against, or to escape recognition from, host innate and adaptive immunity.

This book focuses on biogas production by anaerobic digestion, which is the most popular bioenergy technology of today. Using anaerobic digestion for the production of biogas is a sustainable approach that simultaneously also allows the treatment of organic waste. The energy contained in the substrate is released in the form of biogas, which can be employed as a renewable fuel in diverse industrial sectors. Although biogas generation is considered an established process, it continues to evolve, e.g. by incorporating modifications and improvements to increase its efficiency and its downstream applications. The chapters of this book review the progress made related to feedstock, system configuration and operational conditions. It also addresses microbial pathways utilized, as well as storage, transportation and usage of biogas. This book is an up-to-date resource for scientists and students working on improving biogas production.

Reports on the emergence and prevalence of resistant bacterial infections in hospitals and communities raise concerns that we may soon no longer be able to rely on antibiotics as a way to control infectious diseases. Effective medical care would require the constant introduction of novel antibiotics to keep up in the "arms race" with resistant pathogens. This book closely examines the latest developments in the field of antibacterial research and development. It starts with an overview of the growing prevalence of resistant Gram-positive and Gram- negative pathogens, including their various resistance mechanisms, prevalence, risk factors and therapeutic options. The focus then shifts to a comprehensive description of all major chemical classes with antibacterial properties, their chemistry, mode of action, and the generation of analogs; information that provides the basis for the design of improved molecules to defeat microbial infections and combat the emerging resistances. In closing, recently developed compounds already in clinical use, those in preclinical or first clinical studies, and a number of promising targets to be exploited in the discovery stage are discussed.

Grapevine is a crop of major economical interest, and wine represents a multicultural heritage which has been growing since several milleniums. Yet, modern viticulture must face several challenges. Global climate has increased berry sugar content (and alcohol in the wine) whereas phenolic and aromatic ripeness are not always achieved. Water supply is becoming shorter. New varieties better adapted to new climatic conditions might have to be planted, which may affect wine typicity. Phytochemical treatments are more controlled, and the consumer pays increasing attention to environmentally safe practices. New methods reducing pesticide use, but maintaining yield and typicity, must be designed. The present book illustrates the recent progress made in ecophysiology, molecular and cell biology, and pathology of grapevine, as well as in precision viticulture and berry composition. Combination of these new tools with field observations will undoubtly make it easier to face the challenges described above. These multidisciplinary contributions will be of interest to anyone involved in grapevine and wine activities.

The book summarises the current understanding of the Nervous -, Endocrine and Immune systems with emphasis on shared mediators and receptors and functional interaction. In addition to the fundamental physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms, which are presented in detail, some clinically relevant subjects are also presented, such as inflammation, asthma and allergy, autoimmune disease, immunodeficiency and the acute phase response.

- A comprehensive presentation of neuroimmune biology
- Introduces the subject matter to the uninformed reader
- Contains basic information, theoretical considerations and up-to-date clinical chapters
- The clinical chapters will be helpful to practising physicians

This book provides the first comprehensive review of Acanthamoeba research. Everything that is known about Acanthamoeba is critically reviewed and divided into easy-to-follow sections. The book presents the current state of research on every aspect of this organism, detailing major advances in areas such as genomics, molecular and cellular biology, life cycles, geographical distribution, role in ecosystem, morphology, motility, phylogenetics, genotyping, metabolism, regulation of morphogenesis, host-parasite interactions, the molecular and immunological basis of pathogenesis, methods of transmission, epidemiology, clinical manifestation, diagnosis, treatment, new target development and drug resistance, as well as its role as a Trojan horse of the microbial world, including viral, bacterial, protozoal and fungal pathogens, and much more. There is a significant emphasis on the knowledge of Acanthamoeba infections that has grown in the molecular era. In addition, this book provides a historical perspective on Acanthamoeba research that will be of considerable interest. This compilation will serve as an essential reference for microbiologists, immunologists, and physicians in the field of basic and medical microbiology, as well as an invaluable reference for new and experienced researchers who wish to understand this organism better. The book is the definitive guide to current research on this increasingly important organism.

Myxobacteria have fascinated generations of scientists since their discovery over a century ago. These bacteria represent the epitome of complex prokaryotic behaviour. In this book, expert myxobiologists describe important recent advances in understanding their behaviour at a molecular and cellular level.