Bacillus subtilis is one of the best understood prokaryotes in terms of molecular biology and cell biology. Its superb genetic amenability and relatively large size have provided powerful tools to investigate a bacterium in all possible aspects. Recent improvements in technology have provided novel insights into the dynamic structure of this single cell organism. The organism is a model for differentiation, gene/protein regulation and cell cycle events in bacteria.

A new book to be published in May 2007 by Caister Academic Press covers in depth the cellular and molecular biology of Bacillus. Edited by Peter Graumann of the University of Freiburg, Germany, the new book presents an overview of the most recent research and provides a picture of the major cytological aspects of this model bacterium.

The authors present the most recent knowledge on topics such as the replication and segregation of the chromosome, cell division, replication and growth, the cell cycle, transcription, translation, regulation, the actin cyctoskeleton, the cell membrane and cell wall, biofilm formation and sporulation. Also covered are DNA repair, the regulation of transcription through RNA molecules, and the regulation of protein activity through proteolysis. The authors seamlessly merge the fields of bacterial cell biology and molecular biology to provide an integral view of the bacterial cell, providing an understanding of the way a bacterial cell functions as a whole entity and in 3D, i.e. how it is spatially organized, and even how bacterial cells communicate with each other, or give their life for the sake of the whole community.

Visit Bacillus: Cellular and Molecular Biology for full details.

Candida species are important human pathogens that are best known for causing opportunist infections in immunocompromised hosts (eg transplant patients, AIDS sufferers, cancer patients). Infections are difficult to treat and can be very serious: 30-40% of systemic infections result in death. The sequencing of the genome of C. albicans and those of several other medically-relevant Candida species has provided a major impetus for Candida comparative and functional genomic analyses. These have provided a fascinating insight into the molecular and cellular biology of these fungi and these should pave the way for the development of more sensitive diagnostic strategies and novel antifungal therapies.

A book published this month by Caister Academic Press and edited by Christophe d'Enfert and Bernhard Hube, provides comprehensive and authoritative reviews on current research in Candida with a focus on genomics and molecular biology. Topics covered include genome dynamics of C. albicans; molecular epidemiological and population studies of C. albicans; the parasexual cycle in C. albicans; comparative genomics of the hemiascomycetes group and of different Candida species; databases and the challenges that their curators are facing; transcriptome analysis; proteomics; molecular evolution of the genetic code; stress responses; regulation of morphogenesis; cell wall biology; interaction with host cells; analysis of gene function; antifungal resistance mechanisms and much more.

See Candida: Comparative and Functional Genomics for full details.

Society for General Microbiology
160th Meeting, University of Manchester, UK 26-29 March 2007

PLEASE NOTE: During the meeting you can browse examination copies of the following books at the Wisepress stand:
AIDS Vaccine Development: Challenges and Opportunities
Pathogenic Treponema: Molecular and Cellular Biology
Alpha Herpesviruses: Molecular and Cellular Biology
Influenza Virology: Current Topics

Further details of these books are available at microbiology books

Topics covered at the meeting will include:
Intramolecular mobility of bacteria and viruses
Adapting the cell to optimize the intracellular niche for multiplication
Host factors involved in intracellular pathogenesis
Interferon fifty years on
Advantages and consequences of latent/persistent infections
Intracellular regions within Salmonella
Francisella tularensis: a model intracellular pathogen
Protein secretion: How intracellular pathogens hijack cells
Mycobacterium tuberculosis within macrophages
Interacting with the host immune response
Living inside the Human erythrocyte
Gram-positive bacteria in food spoilage and pathogenesis
Soil Microbiology
Training medical and dental students
Protein Expression strategies
Systems biology of regulatory networks
Molecular aspects of virus replication from entry to exit
Bacterial colonization, latency and host adaptation
Blood-borne virus infections
Alphaproteobacteria: unifying a diverse class
Microbial transport systems