Probiotic microorganisms have a long history of use, and their health benefits for hosts are well documented. This Microbiology Monographs volume provides an overview of the current knowledge and applications of probiotics.
Reviews cover the biology and probiotic potential of the thoroughly studied prokaryotic genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, several eukaryotic microorganisms, probiotic strain characterization, and the analytical methods (such as FISH, microarray, and high throughput sequencing) required for their study. Further chapters describe the positive...
Probiotic microorganisms have a long history of use, and their health benefits for hosts are well documented. This Microbiology Monographs volume p...
In 1898, an Austrian microbiologist Heinrich Winterberg made a curious observation: the number of microbial cells in his samples did not match the number of colonies formed on nutrient media (Winterberg 1898). About a decade later, J. Amann qu- tified this mismatch, which turned out to be surprisingly large, with non-growing cells outnumbering the cultivable ones almost 150 times (Amann 1911). These papers signify some of the earliest steps towards the discovery of an important phenomenon known today as the Great Plate Count Anomaly (Staley and Konopka 1985). Note how early in the history of...
In 1898, an Austrian microbiologist Heinrich Winterberg made a curious observation: the number of microbial cells in his samples did not match the num...
Endophytic prokaryotes can invade the tissue of the host plant without triggering defense reactions or disease symptoms. Instead, they promote the growth of the host plant due to their ability to fix atmospheric dinitrogen and/or to produce plant growth-promoting substances.
This Microbiology Monographs volume presents up-to-date findings on the interactions between plants and beneficial prokaryotes, including the use of genomics for the analysis of plant-prokaryote symbioses and their evolution. Rhizobia-legume, actinorhizal and cyanobacterial symbioses are presented.
Endophytic prokaryotes can invade the tissue of the host plant without triggering defense reactions or disease symptoms. Instead, they promote the ...
Corynebacterium glutamicum was discovered in Japan in 1956 as a natural glutamate producer. Its "microbial factory" qualities, such as its physiological plasticity and robust catalytic functionalities, have since facilitated the development of efficient production processes for amino acids, nucleotides and vitamins.
This monograph illustrates how the information gleaned from complete genome sequencing allows the rational engineering of the entire cellular metabolism and how systems biology permits the further optimization of C. glutamicum as a biocatalyst. Aspects of...
Corynebacterium glutamicum was discovered in Japan in 1956 as a natural glutamate producer. Its "microbial factory" qualities, such as its p...
Microorganisms are capable of producing a wide variety of biopolymers. Homopolymer peptides, which are made up of only a single type of amino acid, are far less ubiquitous. The only two amino-acid homopolymers known to occur in nature are presented in this volume. Poly-epsilon-L-lysine is a polycationic peptide and exhibits antimicrobial activity against a wide spectrum of microorganisms. It is both safe and biodegradable and is therefore used as a food preservative in several countries. In addition, there has been great interest in medical and other applications of poly-lysine and its...
Microorganisms are capable of producing a wide variety of biopolymers. Homopolymer peptides, which are made up of only a single type of amino acid, ar...
Biosurfactants, tensio-active compounds produced by living cells, are now gaining increasing interest due to their potential applications in many different industrial areas in which to date almost exclusively synthetic surfactants have been used. Their unique structures and characteristics are just starting to be appreciated. In addition, biosurfactants are considered to be environmentally "friendly," relatively non-toxic and biodegradable. This Microbiology Monographs volume deals with the most recent advances in the field of microbial biosurfactants, such as rhamnolipids, serrawettins,...
Biosurfactants, tensio-active compounds produced by living cells, are now gaining increasing interest due to their potential applications in many diff...
Rhodococcus has gained increasing interest due to its potential biotechnological applications. This Microbiology Monographs volume provides a thorough review of the various aspects of the biochemistry, physiology and genetics of the Genus Rhodococcus.
Rhodococcus has gained increasing interest due to its potential biotechnological applications. This Microbiology Monographs volume provides a thorough...
Due to various special physiological features and a genome that greatly differs in structure, gene content and organization from other yeasts, Y. lipolytica is widely used as a host system. With its characteristics, such as the ability to grow on lipids or grease, to accumulate oil and the high capacity for secretion of proteases and lipases, the yeast is of great interest for biotechnological applications. The main topics covered in this Microbiology Monograph are: expression and secretion of heterologous proteins; acid and alkaline extracellular proteases; genetics, production, biochemical...
Due to various special physiological features and a genome that greatly differs in structure, gene content and organization from other yeasts, Y. lipo...
Due to various special physiological features and a genome that greatly differs in structure, gene content and organization from other yeasts, Y. lipolytica is widely used as a model organism. With its characteristics, such as the ability to accumulate oil and the high capacity for secretion of proteases and lipases, the yeast is also of great interest for biotechnological applications.
The main topics covered in this Microbiology Monograph are: comparative genomics; mitochondrial genomics and proteomics, including the analysis of the respiratory chain; transposable...
Due to various special physiological features and a genome that greatly differs in structure, gene content and organization from other yeasts, Y...
Probiotic microorganisms have a long history of use, and their health benefits for hosts are well documented. This Microbiology Monographs volume provides an overview of the current knowledge and applications of probiotics.
Reviews cover the biology and probiotic potential of the thoroughly studied prokaryotic genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, several eukaryotic microorganisms, probiotic strain characterization, and the analytical methods (such as FISH, microarray, and high throughput sequencing) required for their study. Further chapters describe the positive...
Probiotic microorganisms have a long history of use, and their health benefits for hosts are well documented. This Microbiology Monographs volume p...
