from Theron et al. in Nanotechnology in Water Treatment Applications Nucleic acid hybridization techniques The easiest way of detecting specific nucleic acid sequences is through direct hybridization of a probe to microbial nucleic acid extracts. These hybridization techniques rely on the specific binding of nucleic acid probes to complementary DNA or RNA (target nucleic acid). The probes are single strands of nucleic acid with the potential of carrying detectable marker molecules highly specific to complementary target sequences, even if read more ...

from Klaus Klumpp and Mark Smith writing in Hepatitis C: Antiviral Drug Discovery and Development : Nucleoside analogs have transformed our ability to treat viral diseases and have contributed to a significant reduction in morbidity, mortality and suffering worldwide caused by viral infections, including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B Virus and Herpes Virus infections. Similarly, nucleoside analogs hold great promise to also become the backbone of the future standard of care for the treatment of Hepatitis C Virus infection, read more ...

I am pleased to provide the following excerpt from a book review of Salmonella : From Genome to Function : "This book contains valuable information on recent research discoveries related to Salmonella. It is a valuable resource for any investigator working in bacterial genetics and pathogenicity." from Rebecca T. Horvat (University of Kansas Medical Center, USA) writing in read more ...

Online Resources and Tools for Epigeneticists from Nicholas C. Wong writing in Epigenetics: A Reference Manual : Biological experiments are rapidly moving into the information age with the explosion of data generated from rapidly evolving technologies. Microarrays can interrogate many thousands to millions of loci within any one sample, while massively parallel sequencing platforms can essentially measure the entire genome. Keeping up with this rapid pace of data accumulation has required the development of online tools for the processing, read more ...

Organisation of Respiratory Electron Transport Chains in Nitrate-Reducing and Nitrifying Bacteria from Jörg Simon writing in Nitrogen Cycling in Bacteria: Molecular Analysis : Nitrogen compounds serve as electron donor and electron acceptor substrates in several modes of microbial respiration such as nitrification, nitrate reduction, denitrification and nitrite ammonification. There are several well-established model bacteria for each of these processes and in many, though not all, cases the various dehydrogenases and reductases read more ...

from Katsumasa Abe, Shouji Takahashi and Yoshio Kera writing in Microbial Bioremediation of Non-metals: Current Research : Organophosphorus compounds are widely used as pesticides, flame retardants and plasticizers. Due to their large-scale use, they have been detected in various environments, including surface and ground water, soil and air in the world. Since many of these compounds are toxic for many organisms including human, their widespread contamination has become a serious problem for various organisms in the environment. Microbial read more ...

from Takeshi Zendo, Kenji Sonomoto, Yasushi Kawai and Tadao Saito writing in Lactic Acid Bacteria and Bifidobacteria: Current Progress in Advanced Research : Many lactococcial and lactobacilli strains produce various available bacteriocins such as nisin, the representative bacteriocin in lactic acid bacteria (LAB), lacticin 3147, and plantaricins as mentioned in Chapter 10 and 11. Recently, pediocin PA-1/AcH (class IIa, well studied) from some Pediococcus strains and enterocin AS-48 (the first class IIc) from Enterococcus faecalis have been read more ...

from Yuji Yamamoto, Philippe Gaudu and Alexandra Gruss writing in Lactic Acid Bacteria and Bifidobacteria: Current Progress in Advanced Research : Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are used industrially for their fermentation properties, and as such, have been generally regarded as anaerobic bacteria that contain neither a respiratory chain nor a catalase. However, most LAB can grow under aerobic conditions and consume molecular oxygen by unique flavoprotein oxidases. Some lactic acid bacteria, such as Enterococcus faecalis and Lactococcus lactis , read more ...

Parainfluenza Viruses from Santanu Chattopadhyay, Frank Esper and Amiya K. Banerjee writing in The Biology of Paramyxoviruses : Parainfluenza viruses (PIVs) include several members of the Paramyxoviridae family of the Mononegavirales order ranging from Respirovirus, Avulavirus and Rubulavirus genera. These group of viruses consist of several species that causes upper and lower respiratory illness in humans, especially among children and in a variety of animals. These medium sized, pleomorphic, enveloped viruses attach to the host cells' read more ...

The new book on Viruses and Interferon edited by Karen Mossman has been delivered to our distributors and will be available very read more ...

Paramutation in Plants from Mario A. Arteaga-Vazquez and Ana E. Dorantes-Acosta writing in Epigenetics: A Reference Manual : Paramutation is a fascinating phenomenon in which epigenetic information can be transmitted through trans -interactions between one allele of a gene to another allele or between homologous DNA sequences that establishes a state of gene expression that is heritable for generations. Paramutation was discovered in maize and similar phenomena have been described in other plants, fungi and animals. In this chapter, we read more ...

from Scott D. Fitzgerald writing in Essentials of Veterinary Parasitology : Parasites may induce a wide variety of pathology in their host tissues. These changes vary from inapparent, to frank necrosis, grossly visible granulomas, and induction of hyperplastic or neoplastic changes in various tissues. The host may exhibit no clinical signs, or develop anemia, hypoproteinemia, weight loss, anorexia, even death. A few simple terms need to be defined before we begin our discussion of pathology. Localized infection refers to a parasitic read more ...

I am pleased to provide the following excerpt from a book review of Borrelia : Molecular Biology, Host Interaction and Pathogenesis : "a clear-headed compendium of scientific knowledge ... the text makes judicious use of figures and has a small number of color plates. Each chapter is heavily referenced ... this is a landmark resource in the field of borreliae. It is truly the first and the sole resource that comprehensively synthesizes the state of knowledge gained from decades of research. This book is a must for any investigator in this read more ...

from Luo et al (2011) in Microbial Population Genetics Generally, microorganisms, in particular prokaryotes often lack morphological and behavioral characters amenable to phylogenetic analysis. Such a lack of information in these areas makes gene sequence information the most prevalent source of data for phylogenetic analysis in pre-genomic era. Molecular phylogenetics based on single genes, in particular the small-subunit rRNA (SSU rRNA) , has laid the foundation for a modern classification system, conceptually represented by the 'universal read more ...

from Theron et al. in Nanotechnology in Water Treatment Applications As a consequence of the speed, specificity and low cost of the PCR, the procedure has become one of the most widely used assays for direct detection of low levels of pathogenic microbes in environmental samples. The PCR assay can be used to selectively amplify, to detectable levels, nucleic acid sequences associated with pathogens that might be present in low numbers in water samples. PCR is a process in which target DNA, synthetic oligonucleotide primers, a thermostable read more ...

from Beatriz Perdiguero and Mariano Esteban writing in Viruses and Interferon: Current Research : Since the discovery of interferons (IFNs) more than half a century ago, these molecules have become key players of many cellular processes, particularly in the control of viral infections, cell growth and immune regulation. How the cells respond to IFN and identification of the molecular signals involved is a major goal in research. In this chapter we address these issues through the current understanding of the interaction between poxviruses read more ...

from Hany M. Elsheikha and Naveed Ahmed Khan writing in Essentials of Veterinary Parasitology : How do parasites establish themselves inside their hosts is one of the most intriguing questions in parasitology. Given the diversity that exists among parasites, it is not surprising that the mechanics of parasitic infections are highly variable. The diverse strategies that pathogenic parasites use to infect their hosts have become better understood by means of molecular techniques that have allowed the identification of parasitic genes and read more ...

from Yoichi Fukushima and Eva Hurt writing in Lactic Acid Bacteria and Bifidobacteria: Current Progress in Advanced Research : Scientific evidence of health benefit of food is accumulating and health claims on food are highlighted. Food for Specified Health Use (FOSHU) was established in Japan in 1991 as the first systematic regulatory system for food health claims, and 799 FOSHU products are approved as of November 2008. Probiotics are food components scientifically well-documented, which may deliver health benefits including gut microbiota read more ...

from Amira M. Hamdan and Kenji Sonomoto writing in Lactic Acid Bacteria and Bifidobacteria: Current Progress in Advanced Research : Lactic acid has long been used for the fermentation and preservation of foodstuffs for human consumption. Lactic acid has 2 optical isomers: L(+)-lactic acid and D(-)-lactic acid. Lactic acid is classified as GRAS (generally recognized as safe) for use as a food additive by the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration), but D(-)-lactic acid is known to be harmful to human metabolism at times, and it can result in read more ...

Prospects for the Development of New Anti-TB Drugs Based on Novel Targets Related to the Host-Parasite Relationship in Tuberculosis from Haruaki Tomioka writing in Emerging Trends in Antibacterial Discovery: Answering the Call to Arms : Worldwide, tuberculosis (TB) remains the most frequent and important infectious disease to cause morbidity and death. However, the development of new drugs for the treatment and prophylaxis of TB has been slow. Therefore, novel types of antituberculous drugs, which act on the unique drug targets in MTB read more ...

from Deborah R. Taylor writing in Hepatitis C: Antiviral Drug Discovery and Development : The tremendous progress in the field of HCV research has led to an explosion of resources, ranging from research tools and scientific reagents to information sources, including internet tools, meetings and conferences, and regulation policies. Access to such valuable HCV resources is important to facilitate HCV pathogenesis research as well as drug discovery and development This chapter summarizes the current major resources that are publicly available read more ...

from Shinya Sugimoto and Kenji Sonomoto writing in Lactic Acid Bacteria and Bifidobacteria: Current Progress in Advanced Research : In order to maintain cell viability, it is essential to maintain protein homeostasis under normal conditions and during injury or stress. A network of highly conserved molecular chaperones and proteases controls the quality of cellular proteins by repairing and degrading abnormal proteins. The recently completed genome sequencing, combined with the development of advanced molecular techniques, has enabled us to read more ...

Pei-Yong Shi (Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, Singapore) presents a new book on Molecular Virology and Control of Flaviviruses The editor of Molecular Virology and Control of Flaviviruses has assembled an up-to-date and cutting-edge anthology from the leading experts in the flavivirus field. Chapters are balanced by contributions from established investigators, who have dedicated their careers to flavivirus research, with those from newcomers who have recently made significant contributions to the flavivirus field. The book opens read more ...

from Wittwer CT and Farrar JS (2011) in PCR Troubleshooting and Optimization PCR was destined to be a quantitative technique. By both theory and practice, a well optimized PCR doubles the amount of product each cycle for many cycles. Early attempts to harness the quantifying power of PCR were limited by dependence on end-point analysis of the products generated, either by removal of an aliquot of the reaction at predetermined cycle numbers (PCR cycle titration) or serial dilution PCR (Wittwer and Farrar, 2011 in PCR Troubleshooting and read more ...

I am pleased to provide the following excerpt from a book review of Molecular Phylogeny of Microorganisms : "the outstanding book edited by Oren and Papke, Molecular Phylogeny of Microorganisms, obligatory reading for all microbiologists to understand the essential concepts of microbial systematics and the present tree of live in our planet." from Mercedes Berlanga (University of Barcelona, Spain) writing in International Microbiology (2010) 13: read more ...

I am pleased to provide the following excerpt from a book review of Metagenomics: Theory, Methods and Applications : "an extremely well-written, easy to read, and highly informative book that discusses the importance of metagenomics and what it brings not only to molecular biology, but also to fields such as microbiology, ecology, evolution, and medicine ... This volume is recommended for scientists in any field who are interested in learning more about metagenomics, how to make sense of what this term really means, and how they can benefit read more ...

Quorum Sensing Inhibitors Disable Bacterial Biofilms from Thomas Bjarnsholt, Tim Tolker-Nielsen and Michael Givskov writing in Emerging Trends in Antibacterial Discovery: Answering the Call to Arms : It is now evident that bacteria assume the biofilm mode of growth during chronic infections. The important hallmarks of biofilm infections are development of local inflammations, extreme tolerance to the action of conventional antimicrobial agents and an almost infinite capacity to evade the host defense systems in particular innate immunity. In read more ...