The present volume is the first attempt to bring together, in a comprehensive and comparative manner, the vast knowledge accumulated on the mycoplasma cell membranes. The state-of-the-art coverage includes physical studies of lipid organization and dynamics in mycoplasma membranes, the role of cholesterol in mycoplasma membranes, spiralins, and eight other subjects.

The mycoplasmas, a trivial name used to denote organisms included in the class Mollicutes, are a group of prokaryotic organisms comprising more than 120 species distinguished from ordinary bacteria by their small size and the total lack of cell walls. The absence of a cell wall in mycoplasmas is a characteristic of outstanding importance to which the mycoplasmas owe many of their pecu- liarities, for example, their morphological instability, osmotic sensitivity, unique ion pumping systems, resistance to antibiotics that interfere with cell wall bio- synthesis, and susceptibility to lysis by...

The meeting on "Microbial Surface Components and Toxins in Relation to Pathogenesis" was held on May 15-19, 1989, in the Mitzpe Rachel guesthouse of Kibbutz Ramat Rachel in Israel. Four major topics formed the basis for the meeting: adhesion and colonization; cell invasion and intracellular multipli- cation; evasion of host defenses; toxins and systemic effects. The presentations clearly show that our understanding of the pathology, pathogenesis and bacteria-host cell inter-action has greatly advanced over the last few years. The contributions to our knowledge on the biogenesis of adhesins...