This book is the first volume of a two-volume set summarizing 40 years of key research findings directly related to metal-resistant Cupriavidus/Ralstonia (Betaproteobacteria). In this first volume, the historical and geographical context of these bacteria, which are mostly found in industrial and polluted environments linked to zinc and other non-ferrous metallurgy, is sketched to illustrate the interactions between bacteria and human activities and the possible evolutionary consequences on bacterial genomes especially as far as the association of metal resistance genes with...