This book gives an overview of the physiology, health, safety and functional aspects of microorganisms present in food and fermented foods. A particular focus is on the health effects of probiotics and non-dairy functional foods. The book deals also with microbes that cause food spoilage and produce toxins, and the efficiency of edible biofilm in the protection of packaged foods. Several chapters are devoted to the occurrence of Listeria pathogens in various food sources. Further topics are fortified foods, the role of trace elements, and the preservation of food and extension of food shelf life by a variety of measures.

The future of agriculture greatly depends on our ability to enhance productivity without sacrificing long-term production potential. The application of microorganisms, such as the diverse bacterial species of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), represents an ecologically and economically sustainable strategy. The use of these bio-resources for the enhancement of crop productivity is gaining importance worldwide. Bacteria in Agrobiology: Crop Productivity focus on the role of beneficial bacteria in crop growth, increased nutrient uptake and mobilization, and defense against phytopathogens. Diverse group of agricultural crops and medicinal plants are described as well as PGPR-mediated bioremediation leading to food security.

This book gives an overview of the physiology, health, safety and functional aspects of microorganisms present in food and fermented foods. A particular focus is on the health effects of probiotics and non-dairy functional foods. The book deals also with microbes that cause food spoilage and produce toxins, and the efficiency of edible biofilm in the protection of packaged foods. Several chapters are devoted to the occurrence of Listeria pathogens in various food sources. Further topics are fortified foods, the role of trace elements, and the preservation of food and extension of food shelf life by a variety of measures.

The future of agriculture greatly depends on our ability to enhance productivity without sacrificing long-term production potential. The application of microorganisms, such as the diverse bacterial species of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), represents an ecologically and economically sustainable strategy. The use of these bio-resources for the enhancement of crop productivity is gaining importance worldwide. Bacteria in Agrobiology: Crop Productivity focus on the role of beneficial bacteria in crop growth, increased nutrient uptake and mobilization, and defense against phytopathogens. Diverse group of agricultural crops and medicinal plants are described as well as PGPR-mediated bioremediation leading to food security.

This book comprises a total of fourteen chapters contributed by experts from different countries across the globe. The book is divided into five sections containing two to three chapters each. It is a comprehensive collection of articles that give an overview of microbial catalysts which include enzymes that contribute to many fields and are widely used in industrial products. Microorganisms have served and continue to serve as one of the largest and useful sources of many enzymes used in foods and the food industry. Microbial catalysts are environmentally friendly and consume lower energy. A particular focus of this book is on applied and industrial microbiology, agricultural microbiology, and food microbiology. All of the sections discuss microbial catalysts, enzymes with respect to their function and their benefits to humankind in general, and biotechnology as a subject of which enzymology is an integral part. This book deals also with the structure and function of some microbial enzymes. Microbial catalysts are generally preferred than plants and animals as sources of industrial enzymes because their production cost is low. In addition, their enzyme content is more predictable and controllable, and more so because of the easy availability of raw materials with constant composition for their cultivation.

This is a collection of twenty different articles from across the globe divided into four basic themes of microbial fertilisers, microbial metabolites, microbes in health and microbial fuels. The first chapter discusses removal of undesirable compounds from soil by a process called rhizoremediation. Sustainability of the ecosystem is greatly needed, which is pertinently covered in the first sub-theme of this volume. The second sub-theme of this collection focuses on diverse types of microbial metabolites with chapters on biosurfactants, carotenoids, organic acids, antibiotics and biosensors, each of which is important and significant in its own way. The third sub-theme of the book is enriched by a discussion on microbes in health with four chapters, each explaining probiotics, direct fed microbials (DFMs), the role of microbes in the production of vaccines, and survival mechanisms of human pathogenic fungi. The chapter on probiotics elucidates the role of microbiota in development of the immune system and their influence on the development of atopic conditions. Finally, the importance of probiotics as a simple but powerful tool that may influence human health by modulating the microbiota is introduced. In the review on DFMs, dissemination and efficacy of Bacillus direct-fed microbial candidates in the gastrointestinal tract of broiler chickens and their effect on health and performance parameters in different poultry diets is discussed as well. Next in this book, vaccines are analyzed, which have reduced the harmful impact of pathogenic microbes on human life. A discussion about long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs), such as the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that provide significant health benefits is introduced. LC-PUFAs can be recovered from many marine organisms, transgenic plants, fungi and many microorganisms, but the largest amount is currently extracted from fish. Finally, biological fuels like biodiesel and bioethanol, which can be generated by efficient utilization of the biotransforming ability of various microorganisms such as microalgae, cyanobacteria and yeasts, are covered in the fourth sub-theme of this volume with six engrossing chapters. One of the chapters discusses the use of waste water for growth of microalgae. Integration of waste water treatment with microalgae performs nutrient incorporation to algal biomass, and waste water remediation as additional benefit are also presented. Thus, the dual-process system provides the potential for energy and effective waste water treatment at lower costs compared to chemical treatment methods.

The book consists of a total of 17 chapters contributed by experts from ten different countries across the globe. The book is divided into six short sections containing a minimum of two chapters each. It is a comprehensive collection of articles that describe the active processes performed by micro-organisms in our daily life, in both a positive way, which is emphasised, and less so in a negative way. The book is focused more on the benefits that mankind can harness from these microbes with which we interact constantly. As we live in complete harmony with these Leeuwenhoek's animalcules, we must learn to achieve and maximise the benefits from such microscopic organisms.