Recent Insights Into Microbial Physiology

The Fourth Edition of Microbial Physiology retains the logical, easy-to-follow organization of the previous editions. An introduction to cell structure and synthesis of cell components is provided, followed by detailed discussions of genetics, metabolism, growth, and regulation for anyone wishing to understand the mechanisms underlying cell survival and growth. This comprehensive reference approaches the subject from a modern molecular genetic perspective, incorporating new insights gained from various genome projects.

Advances in Microbial Physiology, Volume 84 in this ongoing serial, highlights new advances in the field with this new volume presenting interesting chapters. Each chapter is written by an international board of authors. Topics of interest in this update include Mycobacterial Efflux systems, New insights in bacterial organophosphorus cycling: from human pathogens to environmental bacteria, Link between gut sulfidogenic bacteria and disease, The Formate-H2 Axis and its Importance for Microbial Physiology, Physiology of diazotrophs, Antibiotic efficacy, and Microbial metabolites as modulators of host physiology. Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors Presents the latest release in Advances in Microbial Physiology serial Covers Mycobacterial efflux systems, New insights in bacterial organophosphorus, The link between gut sulfidogenic bacteria and disease, and much more

Microbial physiology, biochemistry and genetics allowed the formulation of concepts that turned out to be important in the study of higher organisms. In the first section, the principles of bacterial growth are given, as well as the description of the different layers that enclose the bacterial cytoplasm, and their role in obtaining nutrients from the outside media through different permeability mechanism described in detail. A chapter is devoted to allostery and is indispensable for the comprehension of many regulatory mechanisms described throughout the book. Another section analyses the mechanisms by which cells obtain the energy necessary for their growth, glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, the tricarboxylic and the anaplerotic cycles. Two chapters are devoted to classes of microorganisms rarely dealt with in textbooks, namely the Archaea, mainly the methanogenic bacteria, and the methylotrophs. Eight chapters describe the principles of the regulations at the transcriptional level, with the necessary knowledge of the machineries of transcription and translation. The next fifteen chapters deal with the biosynthesis of the cell building blocks, amino acids, purine and pyrimidine nucleotides and deoxynucleotides, water-soluble vitamins and coenzymes, isoprene and tetrapyrrole derivatives and vitamin B12. The two last chapters are devoted to the study of protein-DNA interactions and to the evolution of biosynthetic pathways. The considerable advances made in the last thirty years in the field by the introduction of gene cloning and sequencing and by the exponential development of physical methods such as X-ray crystallography or nuclear magnetic resonance have helped presenting metabolism under a multidisciplinary attractive angle.

Microbiota are a promising and fascinating subject in biology because they integrate the microbial communities in humans, animals, plants, and the environment. In humans, microbiota are associated with the gut, skin, and genital, oral, and respiratory organs. The plant microbial community is referred to as "holobiont," and it is influential in the maintenance and health of plants, which themselves play a role in animal health and the environment. The contents of Microbiome-Host Interactions cover all areas as well as new research trends in the fields of plant, animal, human, and environmental microbiome interactions. The book covers microbiota in polar soil environments, in health and disease, in Caenorhabditis elegans, and in agroecosystems, as well as in rice root and actinorhizal root nodules, speleothems, and marine shallow-water hydrothermal vents. Moreover, this book provides comprehensive accounts of advanced next-generation DNA sequencing, metagenomic techniques, high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing, and understanding nucleic acid sequence data from fungal, algal, viral, bacterial, cyanobacterial, actinobacterial, and archaeal communities using QIIME software (Quantitative Insights into Microbial Ecology). FEATURES Summarizes recent insight in microbiota and host interactions in distinct habitats, including Antarctic, hydrothermal vents, speleothems, oral, skin, gut, feces, reproductive tract, soil, root, root nodules, forests, and mangroves Illustrates the high-throughput amplicon sequencing, computational techniques involved in the microbiota analysis, downstream analysis and visualization, and multivariate analysis commonly used for microbiome analysis Describes probiotics and prebiotics in the composition of the gut microbiota, skin microbiome impact in dermatologic disease prevention, and microbial communities in the reproductive tract of humans and animals Presents information in a reachable way for students, teachers, researchers, microbiologists, computational biologists, and other professionals who are interested in strengthening or enlarging their knowledge about microbiome analysis with next-generation DNA sequencing in the different branches of the sciences

Microbial Physiology retains the logical, easy-to-follow organization of the previous editions. An introduction to cell structure and synthesis of cell components is provided, followed by detailed discussions of genetics, metabolism, growth, and regulation for anyone wishing to understand the mechanisms underlying cell survival and growth. This comprehensive reference approaches the subject from a modern molecular genetic perspective, incorporating new insights gained from various genome projects. The major objective of this book is to identify and focus attention on those methods and concepts that contribute to an understanding of organismal or genetic persistence. In addition, information about microbial physiology, genetics and ecology contributing to persistence of microorganisms or the measurement of persistence will be discussed. Consequently, there is a great need for more baseline information concerning the ecology of microbes in the natural environment. In determining the underlying risks associated with the release of genetically engineered microorganisms, both the target of risk and the critical exposure level must be identified.

This book focusses on microbial physiology, biochemistry and genetics and provides the reader with detailed information on a number of microbial pathways. Insight into microbial biochemistry have allowed for the formulation of concepts that have turned out to be important in the study of higher organisms. In the first section, the principles of bacterial growth are given, as well as a description of the different layers that enclose the bacterial cytoplasm, and their role in obtaining nutrients from the outside media through different permeability mechanism, which are described in detail. A chapter is devoted to allostery, which is indispensable for the comprehension of many regulatory mechanisms described throughout the book. The second section analyses the mechanisms by which cells obtain the energy necessary for their growth; Glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, the tricarboxylic and the anaplerotic cycles. Two chapters are devoted to classes of microorganisms rarely dealt with in textbooks, namely the Archaea, mainly the methanogenic bacteria, and the methylotrophs. Eight chapters describe the principles of regulation at the transcriptional level, with the necessary knowledge of the machineries of transcription and translation. The next fifteen chapters deal with the biosynthesis of the cell building blocks, amino acids, purine and pyrimidine nucleotides and deoxynucleotides, water-soluble vitamins and coenzymes, isoprene and tetrapyrrole derivatives and vitamin B12. The two last chapters are devoted to the study of protein-DNA interactions and to the evolution of biosynthetic pathways. The considerable advances made in the last thirty years in the field by the introduction of gene cloning and sequencing and by the exponential development of physical methods such as X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance and cryo-electron microscopy have helped in presenting microbial metabolism as a highly multidisciplinary field of study.