Gain a better understanding of how these fascinating microorganisms can help ensure a safe food supply. • Provides a unique comprehensive review of the literature on the application of bacteriophages as therapeutic and prophylactic agents in the food production and processing industries, including food animals, plants, and aquaculture. • Describes how bacteriophages function, explaining why they have the potential to be highly effective antimicrobials, and explores opportunities to use bacteriophages to detect bacterial contamination of foods and water and to control pathogens during both food production and processing. • Examines bacteriophages that can have a negative effect on industrial food processes and bacteriophages that potentially can lead to the evolution of foodborne pathogens; and covers safety and regulatory issues that are crucial to the success of bacteriophage use. • Serves as a resource for food microbiologists, food industry professionals, government regulators.

Recent and forecasted advances in microbiology, molecular biology, and analytical chemistry have made it timely to reassess the current paradigm of relying predominantly or exclusively on traditional bacterial indicators for all types of waterborne pathogens. Nonetheless, indicator approaches will still be required for the foreseeable future because it is not practical or feasible to monitor for the complete spectrum of microorganisms that may occur in water, and many known pathogens are difficult to detect directly and reliably in water samples. This comprehensive report recommends the development and use of a "tool box" approach by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency and others for assessing microbial water quality in which available indicator organisms (and/or pathogens in some cases) and detection method(s) are matched to the requirements of a particular application. The report further recommends the use of a phased, three-level monitoring framework to support the selection of indicators and indicator approaches.Â

Waterborne Pathogens: Detection and Treatment delivers the tools and techniques on how to identify these contaminates and apply the most effective technology for their removal and treatment. Written for researchers and practicing professionals, the book starts with a brief, but readable, review of ubiquitous waterborne pathogens (primarily viruses, bacterial and parasitic protozoa). This coverage is followed by an in-depth discussion of the latest detection and treatment technologies, ranging from Biosensors, to Nanoconjugates, Membrane Based Technologies and Nanotechnology Treatment. Engineers and scientist will find this to be a valuable reference on cutting-edge techniques for suppling safe drinking water across the globe. - Explains the latest research on detection, treatment processes and remediation technologies - Includes sampling, analytical and characterization methods and approaches - Covers cutting-edge research, including Membrane Based Technologies, Nanotechnology Treatment Technologies and Bioremediation Treatment Technologies - Provides background information regarding contamination sources

This monograph emphasizes the many facets of bacterial evolution as impacted by bacterial interactions with phages, as well as, to a lesser degree, the evolutionary impact of phages on other organisms, including other phages. The book starts with a general overview of bacteriophages. Topics discussed in detail include but are not limited to mutagenesis, migration, natural selection and genetic drift as the drivers of evolution as well as an extensive discussion from the author’s unique perspective on phage ecology.

This first major reference work dedicated to the mannifold industrial and medical applications of bacteriophages provides both theoretical and practical insights into the emerging field of bacteriophage biotechnology. The book introduces to bacteriophage biology, ecology and history and reviews the latest technologies and tools in bacteriophage detection, strain optimization and nanotechnology. Usage of bacteriophages in food safety, agriculture, and different therapeutic areas is discussed in detail. This book serves as essential guide for researchers in applied microbiology, biotechnology and medicine coming from both academia and industry.

Current Developments in Biotechnology and Bioengineering: Environmental and Health Impact of Hospital Wastewater narrates the origin (history) of pharmaceuticals discoveries, hospital wastewater and its environmental and health impacts. It covers microbiology of hospital wastewater (pathogens, multi-drug resistance development, microbial evolution and impacts on humans, animals, fish), advanced treatment options (including biological, physical and chemical methods), and highlights aspects required during hospital wastewater treatment processes. This book provides an amalgamation of all recent scientific information on hospital wastewater which is not available in the current literature.

This is the first book to systemize all levels of communicative behavior of phages. Phages represent the most diverse inhabitants on this planet. Until today they are completely underestimated in their number, skills and competences and still remain the dark matter of biology. Phages have serious effects on global energy and nutrient cycles. Phages actively compete for host. They can distinguish between ‘self’ and ‘non-self’ (complement same, preclude others). They process and evaluate available information and then modify their behaviour accordingly. These diverse competences show us that this capacity to evaluate information is possible owing to communication processes within phages (intra-organismic), between the same, related and different phage species (interorganismic), and between phages and non-phage organisms (transorganismic). This is crucial in coordinating infection strategies (lytic vs. lysogenic) and recombination in phage genomes. In 22 chapters, expert contributors review current research into the varying forms of phage biocommunication and Phagetherapy. Biocommunication of Phages aims to assess the current state of research, to orient further investigations on how phages communicate with each other to coordinate their behavioral patterns, and to inspire further investigation of the role of non-phage viruses (non-lytic, non-prokaryotic) in these highly dynamic interactional networks.

The explosion of the field of genetics over the last decade, with the new technologies that have stimulated research, suggests that a new sort of reference work is needed to keep pace with such a fast-moving and interdisciplinary field. Brenner's Encyclopedia of Genetics, Second Edition, Seven Volume Set, builds on the foundation of the first edition by addressing many of the key subfields of genetics that were just in their infancy when the first edition was published. The currency and accessibility of this foundational content will be unrivalled, making this work useful for scientists and non-scientists alike. Featuring relatively short entries on genetics topics written by experts in that topic, Brenner's Encyclopedia of Genetics, Second Edition, Seven Volume Set provides an effective way to quickly learn about any aspect of genetics, from Abortive Transduction to Zygotes. Adding to its utility, the work provides short entries that briefly define key terms, and a guide to additional reading and relevant websites for further study. Many of the entries include figures to explain difficult concepts. Key terms in related areas such as biochemistry, cell, and molecular biology are also included, and there are entries that describe historical figures in genetics, providing insights into their careers and discoveries. This 7-volume set represents a 25% expansion from the first edition, with over 1600 articles encompassing this burgeoning field Thoroughly up-to-date, with many new topics and subfields covered that were in their infancy or not inexistence at the time of the first edition. Timely coverage of emergent areas such as epigenetics, personalized genomic medicine, pharmacogenetics, and genetic enhancement technologies Interdisciplinary and global in its outlook, as befits the field of genetics Brief articles, written by experts in the field, which not only discuss, define, and explain key elements of the field, but also provide definition of key terms, suggestions for further reading, and biographical sketches of the key people in the history of genetics

Examining the enormous potential of microbiome manipulation to improve health Associations between the composition of the intestinal microbiome and many human diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and cancer, have been elegantly described in the past decade. Now, whole-genome sequencing, bioinformatics, and precision gene-editing techniques are being combined with centuries-old therapies, such as fecal microbiota transplantation, to translate current research into new diagnostics and therapeutics to treat complex diseases. Bugs as Drugs provides a much-needed overview of microbes in therapies and will serve as an excellent resource for scientists and clinicians as they carry out research and clinical studies on investigating the roles the microbiota plays in health and disease. In Bugs as Drugs, editors Robert A. Britton and Patrice D. Cani have assembled a fascinating collection of reviews that chart the history, current efforts, and future prospects of using microorganisms to fight disease and improve health. Sections cover traditional uses of probiotics, next-generation microbial therapeutics, controlling infectious diseases, and indirect strategies for manipulating the host microbiome. Topics presented include: How well-established probiotics support and improve host health by improving the composition of the intestinal microbiota of the host and by modulating the host immune response. The use of gene editing and recombinant DNA techniques to create tailored probiotics and to characterize next-generation beneficial microbes. For example, engineering that improves the anti-inflammatory profile of probiotics can reduce the number of colonic polyps formed, and lactobacilli can be transformed into targeted delivery systems carrying therapeutic proteins or bioengineered bacteriophage. The association of specific microbiota composition with colorectal cancer, liver diseases, osteoporosis, and inflammatory bowel disease. The gut microbiota has been proposed to serve as an organ involved in regulation of inflammation, immune function, and energy homeostasis. Fecal microbiota transplantation as a promising treatment for numerous diseases beyond C. difficile infection. Practical considerations for using fecal microbiota transplantation are provided, while it is acknowledged that more high-quality evidence is needed to ascertain the importance of strain specificity in positive treatment outcomes. Because systems biology approaches and synthetic engineering of microbes are now high-throughput and cost-effective, a much wider range of therapeutic possibilities can be explored and vetted. If you are looking for online access to the latest clinical microbiology content, please visit www.wiley.com/learn/clinmicronow.

This book provides a review of innovative and novel biotechnological techniques that can be implemented to assess, analyze, and mitigate harmful pollutants and wastes that result from agricultural and industrial operations. It helps to meet the much-needed demand for improvement of low-cost technologies that tackle pollution problems scientifically for the safeguard of the environment, focusing on bioremediation solutions that also create useful and renewable forms of energy. The biotechnological interventions discussed in the volume include approaches involving genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and fluxomics. In addition, biological agents such as microalgae, bacteria, fungi, and bacteriophage, which can also prove to be helpful in the elimination of wastes, are explored. Topics in Environmental Biotechnology: Sustainable Remediation of Contamination in Different Environs include the associated consequences and hazards from agricultural and industrial waste and a variety of bioremediation measures, including the use of bioaugmentation, biosensors, challenges of biofuel production, and more. The book is directed to researchers, scientists, industrialists, farmers, agricultural waste management authorities, as well as to faculty and students, and aims to help implement these novel technologies for environmental stability.