Microbes and their biosynthetic capabilities have been invaluable in finding solutions for several intractable problems mankind has encountered in maintaining the quality of the environment. They have, for example, been used to positive effect in human and animal health, genetic engineering, environmental protection, and municipal and industrial waste treatment. Microorganisms have enabled feasible and cost-effective responses which would have been impossible via straightforward chemical or physical engineering methods. Microbial technologies have of late been applied to a range of environmental problems, with considerable success. This survey of recent scientific progress in usefully applying microbes to both environmental management and biotechnology is informed by acknowledgement of the polluting effects on the world around us of soil erosion, the unwanted migration of sediments, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and the improper treatment of human and animal wastes. These harmful phenomena have resulted in serious environmental and social problems around the world, problems which require us to look for solutions elsewhere than in established physical and chemical technologies. Often the answer lies in hybrid applications in which microbial methods are combined with physical and chemical ones. When we remember that these highly effective microorganisms, cultured for a variety of applications, are but a tiny fraction of those to be found in the world around us, we realize the vastness of the untapped and beneficial potential of microorganisms. At present, comprehending the diversity of hitherto uncultured microbes involves the application of metagenomics, with several novel microbial species having been discovered using culture-independent approaches. Edited by recognized leaders in the field, this penetrating assessment of our progress to date in deploying microorganisms to the advantage of environmental management and biotechnology will be widely welcomed.

Microorganisms for Sustainable Environment and Health covers hazardous pollutants released from natural as well as anthropogenic activities and implications on environmental and human health. This book serves as a valuable source of basic knowledge and recent developments in the clean technologies and pollution-associated diseases and abnormalities in the context of microorganisms. Focused on current solutions to various environmental problems in the field of bioremediation, it provides a detailed knowledge on the various types of toxic environmental pollutants discharged from different sources, their toxicological effects in environments, humans, animals and plants as well as their biodegradation and bioremediation approaches. This book helps environmental scientists and microbiologists learn about existing environmental problems and suggests ways to control or contain their effects by employing various treatment approaches. - Provides information on waste treatment approaches using microbes - Includes applications in biofuel and bioenergy production - Covers green belt development, hydroponics, phytoremediation, wetland treatment technology, and common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) - Discusses dissemination of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic microbes and strategies to combat multi-drug resistance (MDR)

Various types of secondary agriculture and forestry wastes represent valuable resource materials for developing alternate energy as biofuels and other value added products such as sugars, phenols, furans, organic acids, enzymes and digestible animal feed etc. However, if not managed properly, waste material and environmental contaminants generated by various industries such as food and feed, pulp and paper and textile may lead to severe environmental pollution. The energy, food and feed demand necessitate developing simple and economically viable technologies for environmental management and resource recovery. Microorganisms and their enzymes contribute significantly in utilization of plant residues, resource recovery and eventually in pollution mitigation. “Biotechnology for Environmental Management and Resource Recovery” presents a comprehensive review of selected research topics in a compendium of 16 chapters related to environmental pollution control and developing biotechnologies in agro-ecosystem management and bioconversion of agro-residues (lignocellulosics) into biofuels, animal feed and paper etc. This book provides a valuable resource for reference and text material to graduate and postgraduate students, researchers, scientists working in the area of microbiology, biotechnology, and environmental science and engineering.

Microbes and their biosynthetic capabilities have been invaluable in finding solutions for several intractable problems mankind has encountered in maintaining the quality of the environment. They have, for example, been used to positive effect in human and animal health, genetic engineering, environmental protection, and municipal and industrial waste treatment. Microorganisms have enabled feasible and cost-effective responses which would have been impossible via straightforward chemical or physical engineering methods. Microbial technologies have of late been applied to a range of environmental problems, with considerable success. This survey of recent scientific progress in usefully applying microbes to both environmental management and biotechnology is informed by acknowledgement of the polluting effects on the world around us of soil erosion, the unwanted migration of sediments, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and the improper treatment of human and animal wastes. These harmful phenomena have resulted in serious environmental and social problems around the world, problems which require us to look for solutions elsewhere than in established physical and chemical technologies. Often the answer lies in hybrid applications in which microbial methods are combined with physical and chemical ones. When we remember that these highly effective microorganisms, cultured for a variety of applications, are but a tiny fraction of those to be found in the world around us, we realize the vastness of the untapped and beneficial potential of microorganisms. At present, comprehending the diversity of hitherto uncultured microbes involves the application of metagenomics, with several novel microbial species having been discovered using culture-independent approaches. Edited by recognized leaders in the field, this penetrating assessment of our progress to date in deploying microorganisms to the advantage of environmental management and biotechnology will be widely welcomed.

For microbiology and environmental microbiology courses, this leading textbook builds on the academic success of the previous edition by including a comprehensive and up-to-date discussion of environmental microbiology as a discipline that has grown in scope and interest in recent years. From environmental science and microbial ecology to topics in molecular genetics, this edition relates environmental microbiology to the work of a variety of life science, ecology, and environmental science investigators. The authors and editors have taken the care to highlight links between environmental microbiology and topics important to our changing world such as bioterrorism and national security with sections on practical issues such as bioremediation, waterborne pathogens, microbial risk assessment, and environmental biotechnology.WHY ADOPT THIS EDITION? New chapters on: - Urban Environmental Microbiology - Bacterial Communities in Natural Ecosystems - Global Change and Microbial Infectious Disease - Microorganisms and Bioterrorism - Extreme Environments (emphasizing the ecology of these environments) - Aquatic Environments (now devoted to its own chapter- was combined with Extreme Environments) Updates to Methodologies: - Nucleic Acid -Based Methods: microarrays, phyloarrays, real-time PCR, metagomics, and comparative genomics - Physiological Methods: stable isotope fingerprinting and functional genomics and proteomics-based approaches - Microscopic Techniques: FISH (fluorescent in situ hybridization) and atomic force microscopy - Cultural Methods: new approaches to enhanced cultivation of environmental bacteria - Environmental Sample Collection and Processing: added section on air sampling

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.

This book places the main actors in environmental microbiology, namely the microorganisms, on center stage. Using the modern approach of 16S ribosomal RNA, the book looks at the taxonomy of marine and freshwater bacteria, fungi, protozoa, algae, viruses, and the smaller aquatic animals such as nematodes and rotifers, as well as at the study of unculturable aquatic microorganisms (metagenomics). The peculiarities of water as an environment for microbial growth, and the influence of aquatic microorganisms on global climate and global recycling of nitrogen and sulphur are also examined. The pollution of water is explored in the context of self-purification of natural waters. Modern municipal water purification and disease transmission through water are discussed. Alternative methods for solid waste disposal are related to the economic capability of a society. Viruses are given special attention. By focusing on the basics, this primer will appeal across a wide range of disciplines.

Pollution is one of the most serious issues facing mankind and other life forms on earth. Environmental pollution leads to the degradation of ecosystems, loss of services, economic losses, and various other problems. The eco-friendliest approach to rejuvenating polluted ecosystems is with the help of microorganism-based bioremediation. Microorganisms are characterized by great biodiversity, genetic and metabolic machinery, and by their ability to survive, even in extremely polluted environments. As such, they are and will remain the most important tools for restoring polluted ecosystems / habitats. This three-volume book sheds light on the utilization of microorganisms and the latest technologies for cleaning up polluted sites. It also discusses the remediation or degradation of various important pollutants such as pesticides, wastewater, plastics, PAHs, oil spills etc. The book also explains the latest technologies used for the degradation of pollutants in several niche ecosystems. Given its scope, the book will be of interest to teachers, researchers, bioremediation scientists, capacity builders and policymakers. It also offers valuable additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of microbiology, ecology, soil science, and the environmental sciences.

Microbial Biodegradation and Bioremediation brings together experts in relevant fields to describe the successful application of microbes and their derivatives for bioremediation of potentially toxic and relatively novel compounds. This single-source reference encompasses all categories of pollutants and their applications in a convenient, comprehensive package. Our natural biodiversity and environment is in danger due to the release of continuously emerging potential pollutants by anthropogenic activities. Though many attempts have been made to eradicate and remediate these noxious elements, every day thousands of xenobiotics of relatively new entities emerge, thus worsening the situation. Primitive microorganisms are highly adaptable to toxic environments, and can reduce the load of toxic elements by their successful transformation and remediation. - Describes many novel approaches of microbial bioremediation including genetic engineering, metagenomics, microbial fuel cell technology, biosurfactants and biofilm-based bioremediation - Introduces relatively new hazardous elements and their bioremediation practices including oil spills, military waste water, greenhouse gases, polythene wastes, and more - Provides the most advanced techniques in the field of bioremediation, including insilico approach, microbes as pollution indicators, use of bioreactors, techniques of pollution monitoring, and more

Written by leading experts in their respective fields, Principles and Applications of Soil Microbiology 3e, provides a comprehensive, balanced introduction to soil microbiology, and captures the rapid advances in the field such as recent discoveries regarding habitats and organisms, microbially mediated transformations, and applied environmental topics. Carefully edited for ease of reading, it aids users by providing an excellent multi-authored reference, the type of book that is continually used in the field. Background information is provided in the first part of the book for ease of comprehension. The following chapters then describe such fundamental topics as soil environment and microbial processes, microbial groups and their interactions, and thoroughly addresses critical nutrient cycles and important environmental and agricultural applications. An excellent textbook and desk reference, Principles and Applications of Soil Microbiology, 3e, provides readers with broad, foundational coverage of the vast array of microorganisms that live in soil and the major biogeochemical processes they control. Soil scientists, environmental scientists, and others, including soil health and conservation specialists, will find this material invaluable for understanding the amazingly diverse world of soil microbiology, managing agricultural and environmental systems, and formulating environmental policy. - Includes discussion of major microbial methods, embedded within topical chapters - Includes information boxes and case studies throughout the text to illustrate major concepts and connect fundamental knowledge with potential applications - Study questions at the end of each chapter allow readers to evaluate their understanding of the materials