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This volume details recent developments in magnetotactic bacteria research. It includes reviews on the formation and organization of magnetosomes, the genes controlling magnetosome biomineralization, and new cryogenic techniques to visualize novel cytoskeleton structures. Coverage also describes potential nanobiotechnological applications of the magnetosome crystals.
The key role played by iron, as well as other transition metals, in microbial metabolism is investigated in this volume. Topics covered include: iron chelation and siderophores; receptor-mediated bacterial iron transport; and the nitogenases.
Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) synthesize intracellular nano-sized minerals of magnetite and/or greigite magnetosomes for magnetic orientation. They play important roles in global iron cycling and sedimentary magnetism, and have a broad range of potential applications in both biotechnological and biomedical fields. However, because the majority of MTB in nature remain unculturable, our understanding of these specific bacteria remains fairly limited. This thesis describes the development of a novel approach for effectively collecting, purifying and characterizing uncultivated magnetotactic bacteria. The diversity, genomic information and rock magnetic properties of various uncultivated MTB are investigated and characterized using a combination of biological and geophysical methods. The results will lead to a better understanding of the biogeography and biomineralization mechanisms of MTB in nature, and improve our knowledge of the contributions of MTB to biogeochemical cycles of elements and sedimentary magnetism. Dr. Wei Lin works at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
"Alginates: Biology and Applications" provides an overview of the state of art of alginate material properties, genetics and the molecular mechanisms underlying alginate biosynthesis as well as applications of tailor-made alginates in medicine, food and biotechnology. Topics treated are: material properties of alginates, alginate production: precursor biosynthesis, polymerization and secretion, bacterial system for alginate uptake and degradation, enzymatic alginate modification, alginate gene regulation, role of alginate in bacterial biofilms, microbial production of alginates: physiology and process aspects, alginate-based blends and nano/microbeads, applications of alginates in food, alginate and its comonomer mannuronic acid: medical relevance as drugs.
Endosymbiosis is a primary force in eukaryotic cell evolution. In order to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in this mutualistic relationship, experiments to reproduce endosymbiosis are indispensable. The ciliate "Paramecium" is an ideal host for performing such studies. Topics presented in this volume are: the origins of algal and bacterial symbionts in "Paramecium", the diversity of endosymbiotic bacteria, such as "Holospora" bacteria and especially "Chlorella" species, as well as the infection and maintenance processes. The metabolic control, the regulation of circadian rhythms and photobiological aspects of the mutualistic association, as well as the killer effect of "Paramecium" and its causative agents are further points discussed.
Includes a description of the Alpha-, Beta-, Delta-, and Epsilonproteabacteria (1256 pages, 512 figures, and 371 tables). This large taxa include many well known medically and environmentally important groups. Especially notable are Acetobacter, Agrobacterium, Aquospirillum, Brucella, Burkholderia, Caulobacter, Desulfovibrio, Gluconobacter, Hyphomicrobium, Leptothrix, Myxococcus, Neisseria, Paracoccus, Propionibacter, Rhizobium, Rickettsia, Sphingomonas, Thiobacillus, Xanthobacter and 268 additional genera.
The editors have gathered in this book, reviews of past and current studies of mineral groups that have played important roles in geology, environmental science and health science. The various chapters cover the application of TEM and related techniques to: mineral groups in which TEM investigations have been extensive and crucial to the understanding of their mineralogy, namely pyriboles, serpentines, clays, micas and other metamorphic phyllosilicates, oxides and oxyhydroxides, sulfides and carbonates. Some research fields for which TEM is particularly suitable and which have produced significant advances, in particular, are inclusions and traces, extraterrestrial material, deformation processes, non-stoichiometry and superstructures, and biominerals. Nowadays, we are witnessing the push for the improvement of detectors for imaging (direct detection of electrons) and X-rays (silicon drift detectors and annular high solid-angle of collection detectors), the development of new support materials (e.g. graphene) and liquid cells for TEMs. Most of these new technologies have not yet been applied to mineralogical problems but we hope they will be in the near future.
The new series "Microbiology Monographs" begins with two volumes on intracellular components in prokaryotes. In this first volume, "Inclusions in Prokaryotes", the components, labeled inclusions, are defined as discrete bodies resulting from synthesis of a metabolic product. Research on the biosynthesis and reutilization of the accumulated materials is still in progress, and interest in the inclusions is growing. This comprehensive volume provides historical background and comprehensive reviews of eight well-known prokaryotic inclusions.