Understanding Microbes
Understanding Microbes

Author: Jeremy W. Dale

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2012-11-20

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 1118482751

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We can’t see them, but microbes are the dominant form of life on Earth. They make up half of the world’s biomass. They were here billions of years before we were, and they will be here after we are gone. Without their activity, life as we know it would be impossible. Even within our own bodies, there are ten times as many bacterial cells as human cells. Understanding Microbes provides a clear, accessible introduction to this world of microbes. As well as looking at a selection of infectious diseases, including how they are prevented and treated, the book explores the importance of microbes in the environment, in the production and preservation of food, and their applications in biotechnology. This lively and engaging book provides the basics of microbiology, in a contemporary context. It will be equally useful for students across the biological, environmental and health sciences, and for the curious reader wanting to learn more about this fascinating subject. A highly-readable, concise introduction to the basics of microbiology placed in the context of the very latest developments in molecular biology and their impact on the microbial world. Numerous real-world examples range from how cows digest grass to the role of microbes in cancer and the impact of climate change Well-illustrated in full colour throughout. Written by an Author with a proven track record in teaching, writing and research.

Understanding Microbes
Understanding Microbes

Author: G. William Claus

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 580

ISBN-13: 9780716718093

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This introductory microbiology text goes beyond the usual texts of its type, explaining why certain procedures are followed and illuminating the basic principles behind morphological and physiological tests.

Microbes in the Spotlight
Microbes in the Spotlight

Author: A. Méndez-Vilas

Publisher: Universal-Publishers

Published: 2016-06-28

Total Pages: 494

ISBN-13: 1627346120

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Microbes in the Spotlight: Recent Progress in the Understanding of Beneficial and Harmful Microorganisms contains a selection of papers presented at the VI International Conference on Environmental, Industrial and Applied Microbiology - BioMicroWorld2015 (Barcelona, Spain). This book offers the outcomes of completed and outgoing research works and experiences of several microbiology research groups across the world. The volume is divided into the following sections: --Agricultural and environmental microbiology. Biodeterioration, biodegratation, bioremediation --Food microbiology --Medical microbiology. Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy. Antimicrobial resistance --Industrial microbiology. Microbial production of high-value products --Biotechnologically relevant enzymes and proteins --Methods and technology development --Microbial physiology Readers will find this book a useful opportunity to keep up with the latest research results, insights and advances in the microbiology field.

Modern Tools and Techniques to Understand Microbes
Modern Tools and Techniques to Understand Microbes

Author: Ajit Varma

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-04-21

Total Pages: 459

ISBN-13: 3319491970

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This book provides essential molecular techniques and protocols for analyzing microbes that are useful for developing novel bio-chemicals, such as medicines, biofuels, and plant protection substances. The topics and techniques covered include: microbial diversity and composition; microorganisms in the food industry; mass cultivation of sebacinales; host-microbe interaction; targeted gene disruption; function-based metagenomics to reveal the rhizosphere microbiome; mycotoxin biosynthetic pathways; legume-rhizobium symbioses; multidrug transporters of yeast; drug-resistant bacteria; the fungal endophyte piriformospora indica; medicinal plants; arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; biosurfactants in microbial enhanced oil recovery; and biocontrol of the soybean cyst nematode with root endophytic fungi; as well as microbe-mediated drought tolerance in plants.

Why Gut Microbes Matter
Why Gut Microbes Matter

Author: Harry J. Flint

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2020-05-19

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 9783030432454

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Given the at times confusing new information concerning the human microbiome released over the last few years, this book seeks to put the research field into perspective for non-specialists. Addressing a timely topic, it breaks down recent research developments in a way that everyone with a scientific background can understand. The book discusses why microorganisms are vital to our lives and how our nutrition influences the interaction with our own gut bacteria. In turn, it goes into more detail on how microbial communities are organised and why they are able to survive in the unique environment of our intestines. Readers will also learn about how their personal microbial profile is as unique as their fingerprint, and how it can be affected by a healthy or unhealthy lifestyle. Thanks to the open and easy-to-follow language used, the book offers an overview for all readers with a basic understanding of biology, and sheds new light on this fascinating and important part of our bodies.

The New Science of Metagenomics
The New Science of Metagenomics

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2007-06-24

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 0309106761

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Although we can't usually see them, microbes are essential for every part of human life-indeed all life on Earth. The emerging field of metagenomics offers a new way of exploring the microbial world that will transform modern microbiology and lead to practical applications in medicine, agriculture, alternative energy, environmental remediation, and many others areas. Metagenomics allows researchers to look at the genomes of all of the microbes in an environment at once, providing a "meta" view of the whole microbial community and the complex interactions within it. It's a quantum leap beyond traditional research techniques that rely on studying-one at a time-the few microbes that can be grown in the laboratory. At the request of the National Science Foundation, five Institutes of the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Energy, the National Research Council organized a committee to address the current state of metagenomics and identify obstacles current researchers are facing in order to determine how to best support the field and encourage its success. The New Science of Metagenomics recommends the establishment of a "Global Metagenomics Initiative" comprising a small number of large-scale metagenomics projects as well as many medium- and small-scale projects to advance the technology and develop the standard practices needed to advance the field. The report also addresses database needs, methodological challenges, and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in supporting this new field.

Microbial Evolution
Microbial Evolution

Author: Howard Ochman

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781621820376

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Bacteria have been the dominant forms of life on Earth for the past 3.5 billion years. They rapidly evolve, constantly changing their genetic architecture through horizontal DNA transfer and other mechanisms. Consequently, it can be difficult to define individual species and determine how they are related. Written and edited by experts in the field, this collection from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology examines how bacteria and other microbes evolve, focusing on insights from genomics-based studies. Contributors discuss the origins of new microbial populations, the evolutionary and ecological mechanisms that keep species separate once they have diverged, and the challenges of constructing phylogenetic trees that accurately reflect their relationships. They describe the organization of microbial genomes, the various mutations that occur, including the birth of new genes de novo and by duplication, and how natural selection acts on those changes. The role of horizontal gene transfer as a strong driver of microbial evolution is emphasized throughout. The authors also explore the geologic evidence for early microbial evolution and describe the use of microbial evolution experiments to examine phenomena like natural selection. This volume will thus be essential reading for all microbial ecologists, population geneticists, and evolutionary biologists.

Microbiomes of the Built Environment
Microbiomes of the Built Environment

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2017-10-06

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 0309449839

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People's desire to understand the environments in which they live is a natural one. People spend most of their time in spaces and structures designed, built, and managed by humans, and it is estimated that people in developed countries now spend 90 percent of their lives indoors. As people move from homes to workplaces, traveling in cars and on transit systems, microorganisms are continually with and around them. The human-associated microbes that are shed, along with the human behaviors that affect their transport and removal, make significant contributions to the diversity of the indoor microbiome. The characteristics of "healthy" indoor environments cannot yet be defined, nor do microbial, clinical, and building researchers yet understand how to modify features of indoor environmentsâ€"such as building ventilation systems and the chemistry of building materialsâ€"in ways that would have predictable impacts on microbial communities to promote health and prevent disease. The factors that affect the environments within buildings, the ways in which building characteristics influence the composition and function of indoor microbial communities, and the ways in which these microbial communities relate to human health and well-being are extraordinarily complex and can be explored only as a dynamic, interconnected ecosystem by engaging the fields of microbial biology and ecology, chemistry, building science, and human physiology. This report reviews what is known about the intersection of these disciplines, and how new tools may facilitate advances in understanding the ecosystem of built environments, indoor microbiomes, and effects on human health and well-being. It offers a research agenda to generate the information needed so that stakeholders with an interest in understanding the impacts of built environments will be able to make more informed decisions.