Ralph A. LewiQand Lanna Cheng In physics, the discovery of new (more properly, hitherto undetected) particles has often resulted from a search: like the discovery of America, their existence had been postulated but their actual existence awaited confirmation. In biology, new discoveries are rarely made in this way. The existence of an alga like Prochloron, as a putative ancestor of chloro plasts, had been postulated, but in fact its discovery was a consequence of fortuitous events. Green algal symbionts in didemnid ascidians had been known for decades to a few marine zoologists who had worked in coral reef areas, but nobody had bothered much about them. When we happened to find them, under boulders on a seashore in Baja California, Mexico, where we were taking part in a student expedition, we didn't bother much either at first, though they worried us a little. With our portable microscope we could see no nuclei in the cells, which, according to the dogma accepted at the time, indicated that they were blue-green algae-yet they didn't look blue-green. They were leaf-green, like green algae and higher plants. We made desultory attempts to grow them in culture, in variously enriched seawater media, but failed. (This proved to be a frustrating experience, all too frequently repeated on subsequent expeditions. ) We collected enough for electron microscopy, though, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies indicated that the cells were unequivocally prokaryotic.

Microbial natural products have been an important traditional source of valuable antibiotics and other drugs but interest in them waned in the 1990s when big pharma decided that their discovery was no longer cost-effective and concentrated instead on synthetic chemistry as a source of novel compounds, often with disappointing results. Moreover understanding the biosynthesis of complex natural products was frustratingly difficult. With the development of molecular genetic methods to isolate and manipulate the complex microbial enzymes that make natural products, unexpected chemistry has been revealed and interest in the compounds has again flowered. This two-volume treatment of the subject will showcase the most important chemical classes of complex natural products: the peptides, made by the assembly of short chains of amino acid subunits, and the polyketides, assembled from the joining of small carboxylic acids such as acetate and malonate. In both classes, variation in sub-unit structure, number and chemical modification leads to an almost infinite variety of final structures, accounting for the huge importance of the compounds in nature and medicine. - Gathers tried and tested methods and techniques from top players in the field - In depth coverage of ribosomally-synthesised and Non-ribosomally-synthesised peptides - Provides an extremely useful reference for the experienced research scientist

Microbiologist have made significant contributions to basic biological sciences as well as in the applied areas of public health and medical sciences, agriculture, industry and environmental sciences. The most dramatic current development in applied microbiology is due to development of genetic engineering and recombinant DNA technology. The book "Advances in Microbiology" provides a comprehensive and critical review of the work done on different areas of microbiology including agriculture, industry, medical science, bioremediation etc. The book contains 24 chapters. Chapters cover information on the status of microbial diversity, application of biosensors, Azolla as biofertilizer, Frank/a - nitrogen fixing actinomycetes, extraction of metals from ores using bacteria, alkaliphiles, citirc acid fermentation, biodiversity of cyanobacteria, microbial degradation of xenobiotics etc. Aspects, covering biotechnological applications of microbes for improved plant productivity and new approaches for development of vaccines have been specially included to project their role and use in the twenty-first century. Comprehensive account of microbes in the management of soil borne diseases and plant parasitic nematodes throw light on the importance of microbes in the management of plant pests. This book will be useful to researchers, teachers and students of Microbiology, Botany, Zoology and Agriculture.

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Origins of Plastids looks at symbiosis and symbiogenesis as a mechanism of evolution. This theory of endosymbiotic evolution postulates that photosynthetic prokaryotes living as endosymbionts within eukaryotic cells gradually evolved into the organelle structures called chloroplasts. The theory is controversial but has been strongly advocated by Lynn Margulis. Based on a colloquium held at the Bodega Bay Marine Laboratory of the University of California at Davis, Origins of Plastids reviews recent data on this most basic problem in plant evolution. In it, leading researchers in the field apply the theory of endosymbiotic evolution to plastid origins, producing an important new reference work for both professionals and graduates interested in the origins of life, the origins of the eukaryotic cell and its organelles, and the evolution of the higher plants in general. Origins of Plastids represents the state-of-the-art in its field. It should find a place on the bookshelves of people interested in microbiology, plant science, phycology, cell biology, and evolution.

This book introduces the reader to algal diversity as currently understood and then traces the photosynthetic structures and mechanisms that contribute so much to making the algae unique. Indeed the field is now so large that no one expert can hope to cover it all. The 19 articles are each written by experts in their area; ranging over all the essential aspects and making for a comprehensive coverage of the whole field. Important developments in molecular biology, especially transformation mutants in Chlamydomonas, are dealt with, as well as areas important to global climate change, carbon dioxide exchange, light harvesting, energy transduction, biotechnology and many others. The book is intended for use by graduate students and beginning researchers in the areas of molecular and cell biology, integrative biology, plant biology, biochemistry and biophysics, biotechnology, global ecology, and phycology.

Considers the features common to bacteria that need light to grow, focusing on those features important in nature and useful in industrial applications. Because the species are scattered across the taxonomic chart, they have little in common except the physiology of photosynthesis and ecological dis

Pharmaceutical Microbiology: Essentials for Quality Assurance and Quality Control presents that latest information on protecting pharmaceutical and healthcare products from spoilage by microorganisms, and protecting patients and consumers. With both sterile and non-sterile products, the effects can range from discoloration to the potential for fatality. The book provides an overview of the function of the pharmaceutical microbiologist and what they need to know, from regulatory filing and GMP, to laboratory design and management, and compendia tests and risk assessment tools and techniques. These key aspects are discussed through a series of dedicated chapters, with topics covering auditing, validation, data analysis, bioburden, toxins, microbial identification, culture media, and contamination control. - Contains the applications of pharmaceutical microbiology in sterile and non-sterile products - Presents the practical aspects of pharmaceutical microbiology testing - Provides contamination control risks and remediation strategies, along with rapid microbiological methods - Includes bioburden, endotoxin, and specific microbial risks - Highlights relevant case studies and risk assessment scenarios

A NATO ASI on "Molecular Ecology of Aquatic Microbes" was held at II Ciocco, Lucca, Italy from 28 August - 9 September 1994. The aims of the ASI were to evaluate the potential for molecular biology to solve some important questions in aquatic microbiology, particularly in relation to biogeochemical cycling and microbial physiology. Techniques developed by molecular biologists have now been adopted by a wide range of scientific disciplines. In the last 5 years, aquatic microbial ecologists have begun to incorporate these methods into their research and, as a result, are developing a much clearer understanding of phylogenetic diversity, the molecular basis of physiological acclimations and the transduction of environmental signals and organism responses. The aim of this ASI was to assess progress in this new field of research, to compare and describe techniques and experimental approaches, and to foster communication between disciplines. The ASI offered an excellent opportunity to bring together aquatic ecologists with molecular biologists and to encourage efficient technology transfer. The meeting of information on the status provided a forum for detailed and broad exchange and trends of aquatic molecular ecology and to assess how emerging molecular techniques might solve some important problems in ecology which have prove intractable because of lack of appropriate methodologies.