In the fifty years since the inception of the Society for General Microbiology, the study of pathogenic microbes and the development of methods for their control has been a focus of attention for many microbiologists. This volume reviews the immense progress that has been made during the past half-century. It opens with the text of Sir Alexander Fleming's 1946 Linacre Lecture Chemotherapy: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, and then considers the development of key antimicrobial compounds, both naturally occurring and synthetic, active against bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa. Contributors...

The study of biofilm considers the close association of micro-organisms at interfaces and the consequent physiological adaptations to the proximity of other cells and surfaces. As such, it is relevant to a variety of disciplines, including medicine, dentistry, bioremediation, biofouling, water technology, engineering, and food science. Although the habitats studied and their associated cellular communities differ widely, some common elements exist such as method of attachment, coadhesion, regulation of biofilm phenotype, and biofilm architecture. This book aims to distil the common principles...

The use of DNA arrays and proteomics will transform the scale of our ability to describe the patterns of gene expression as bacteria respond to their environments. However, the ability to control bacteria in a clinical context or exploit them in industrial or environmental contexts also depends on understanding the regulatory mechanisms which connect input experience to output response at the genetic level. This book deals with our current knowledge of the circuits and networks that govern bacterial gene expression--from the single gene to the whole genome--and which provide the framework for...

Microbial chemical signals, or pheremones, have been found to mediate the regulation of diverse metabolic reactions and processes such as antibiotic production, pathogenesis, sexual conjugation, sporulation and differentiation. Their study has the potential to secure advances in our ability to control microbial processes to our benefit. This volume presents information at the forefront of knowledge in this exciting field and includes contributions on a range of organisms (both prokaryote and eukaryote, unicellular and multi-cellular) and signaling molecules. As such it will provide an...

An understanding of the relationship between a pathogen and its host is essential for the development of effective disease control measures. This volume focuses on interactions at the molecular level, specifically between the proteins of the infectious agent and the host that has been invaded. Both viral and bacterial systems are considered, with specific examples illustrating the rapid advances being made in defining the molecular mechanisms underlying infection.