Revised and updated to reflected new information in the field, the Third Edition of Alcamo's Microbes and Society is intended for liberal arts students taking a foundation course in the life sciences. It discusses the role of microbes in our everyday lives, from food production to their roll in biotechnology and the numerous other ways that microbes contribute to our world. It goes on to explore such topics as the function of microbes in ecological systems and environmental systems. Coverage of bioterrorism, antibiotic resistance, and microbial disease offer students a broad and current perspective of the extensive impact of various microbes. Consistent with Edward Alcamo's student-friendly writing style, material is presented in a lively format that will engage students and highlight both the positive and negative impact that microorganisms have in our society.

Though nothing in the natural world would be quite the same without them, microbes go mostly unnoticed. They are the tiny, mighty force behind the pop in Champagne and the holes in Swiss cheese, the granite walls of Yosemite and the white cliffs of Dover, the workings of snowmaking machines, Botox, and gunpowder; and yet we tend to regard them as peripheral, disease-causing, food-spoiling troublemakers. In this book renowned microbiologist John Ingraham rescues these supremely important and ubiquitous microorganisms from their unwonted obscurity by showing us how we can, in fact, see them—and appreciate their vast and varied role in nature and our lives. Though we might not be able to see microbes firsthand, the consequences of their activities are readily apparent to our unaided senses. March of the Microbes shows us how to examine, study, and appreciate microbes in the manner of a birdwatcher, by making sightings of microbial activities and thereby identifying particular microbes as well as understanding what they do and how they do it. The sightings are as different as a smelly rock cod, a bottle of Chateau d’Yquem, a moment in the Salem witch trials, and white clouds over the ocean. Together they summarize the impact of microbes on our planet, its atmosphere, geology, weather, and other organisms including ourselves, to whom they dole out fatal illnesses and vital nutrients alike. In the end, Ingraham leaves us marveling at the power and persistence of microbes on our planet and gives credence to Louis Pasteur’s famous assertion that “microbes will have the last word.”

This book describes the multitude of interactions between plant, soil, and micro-organisms. It emphasizes on how growth and development in plants, starting from seed germination, is heavily influenced by the soil type. It describes the interactions established by plants with soil and inhabitant microbial community. The chapters describe how plants selectively promote certain microorganisms in the rhizospheric ecozone to derive multifarious benefits such as nutrient acquisition and protection from diseases. The diversity of these rhizospheric microbes and their interactions with plants largely depend on plant genotype, soils attributes, and several abiotic and biotic factors. Most of the studies concerned with plant–microbe interaction are focused on temperate regions, even though the tropical ecosystems are more diverse and need more attention. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how soil type and climatic conditions influence the plant–soil–microbes interaction in the tropics. Considering the significance of the subject, the present volume is designed to cover the most relevant aspects of rhizospheric microbial interactions in tropical ecosystems. Chapters include aspects related to the diversity of rhizospheric microbes, as well as modern tools and techniques to assess the rhizospheric microbiomes and their functional roles. The book also covers applications of rhizospheric microbes and evaluation of prospects improving agricultural practice and productivity through the use of microbiome technologies. This book will be extremely interesting to microbiologists, plant biologists, and ecologists.

This book explores recent advances on the use of microbes for agri-forestry biotechnological applications. It provides technical concepts and discussions on the use of microorganisms for processes such as bioprocessing, bioremediation, soil enhancement, aquaponics advances, and plant-host symbiosis. The book provides an overview of the microbial approach to the tools and processes used in agriculture and forestry that make or modify products, improve plants for specific uses, and make use of livestock in agricultural systems. The authors discuss the main process conditions that enhance agri-forestry applications with the use of microbes and introduce the use of genetically modified (GM) microbes in agrobiotechnology. Finally, the authors explore the main technological advances in the production of secondary metabolites with potential applications in agri-forestry. This book is intended for biotechnologists, biologists, bioengineers, biochemists, microbiologists, food technologists, enzymologists, and related researchers.

This book puts an updated account on functional aspects of multiphasic microbial interactions within and between plants and their ecosystem. Multipronged interaction in the soil microbial communities with the plants constitute a relay of mechanisms that make profound changes in plant and its micro-environment in the rhizopshere at physiological, biochemical and molecular levels. In agro-ecological perspectives, such interactions are known to recycle nutrients and regulate signalling molecules, phytohormones and other small molecules that help plant growth and development. Such aspects are described deeply in this book taking examples from various crop plants and microbial systems. Authors described the most advantageous prospects of plant-microbe interaction in terms of inoculation of beneficial microorganisms (microbial inoculants) with the plants in which microbes proliferate in the root rhizosphere system and benefit plants' with definite functions like fixation of nitrogen, solubilization and mobilization of P, K, Zn and production of phytohormones. The subject of this book and the content presented herein has great relevance to the agro-ecological sustainability of crop plants with the help of microbial interactions. The chapters presented focus on defining and assessing the impact of beneficial microbial interactions on different soils, crops and abiotic conditions. This volume entails about exploiting beneficial microbial interactions to help plants under abiotic conditions, microbe-mediated induced systemic tolerance, role of mycorrhizal interactions in improving plant tolerance against stresses, PGPR as nutrient mobilizers, phytostimulants, antagonists and biocontrol agents, plant interactions with Trichoderma and other bioagents for sustainable intensification in agriculture, cyanobacteria as PGPRs, plant microbiome for crop management and phytoremediation and rhizoremediation using microbial communities. The overall content entrust advanced knowledge and applicability of diversified biotechnological, techno-commercial and agro-ecological aspects of microbial interactions and inoculants as inputs, which upon inoculation with crop plants benefit them in multiple ways.

This book shares the latest insights into the genetic basis of molecular communication between plants and their microbial consortia. Further, the book highlights the capabilities of the rhizosphere and endosphere, which help manage ecosystem responses to climate change, nutrient cycling and sequestration of carbon; and discusses their application to the development and management of renewable energy sources. In their natural environments, plants are surrounded by a tremendous number of microorganisms. Some microbes directly interact with plants in a mutually beneficial fashion, while others colonize plants solely for their own advantage. In addition, microbes can indirectly affect plants by drastically altering their environments. Understanding the complex nature of the plant-microbe interface (PMI) can pave the way for novel strategies to improve plant productivity in an eco-friendly manner. The PMI approach focuses on understanding the physical, molecular, and chemical interactions between organisms in order to determine their functional roles in biological, physical, chemical and environmental systems. Although several metabolites from plants and microbes have now been fully characterized, their roles in chemical interactions between these associates remain poorly understood, and require further investigation.

Discover the positive and helpful contributions made by microorganisms to various areas of human health, food preservation and production, biotechnology, industry, environmental clean up and sustainable agriculture. In Good Microbes in Medicine, Food Production, Biotechnology, Bioremediation and Agriculture, a team of distinguished researchers delivers a comprehensive and eye-opening look at the positive side of bacteria and other microbes. The book explores the important and positive roles played by microorganisms. Divided into five sections, Good Microbes examines the use of microorganisms and the microbiome in human health, food production, industrial use, bioremediation, and sustainable agriculture. Coverage spans from food allergies, skin disorders, microbial food preservation and fermentation of various beverages and food products, also from an ethnical point of view to beneficial use of microbes in biotechnology, industry, bioeconomy, environmental remediation such as resource recovery, microbial-based environmental clean-up, plant-microbe interactions in biorestauration, biological control of plant diseases, and biological nitrogen fixation. Provides basic knowledge on bacterial biology, biochemistry, genetics and genomics of beneficial microbes Includes practical discussions of microbial biotechnology, including the contribution of microbial biotechnology to sustainable development goals Features a comprehensive introduction and extensive index to facilitate the search for key terms. Perfect for scientists, researchers and anyone with an interest in beneficial microbes, Good Microbes in Medicine, Food Production, Biotechnology, Bioremediation and Agriculture is also an indispensable resource for microbiology graduate students, applied microbiologists and policy makers.

A constant research effort to understand plant-microbe interactions makes it indispensable to keep abreast of the latest research developments. Researchers from a range of disciplines have used multiple approaches to infer this field. With the advent of next-generation techniques, both molecular and computational, the field has entered a new phase. These approaches often result in massive information, which is sometimes tangled and in need of further analysis. These types of analyses also require cutting-edge data analytics as well as efficient statistical models. Plant-Microbe Interactions: Harnessing Next-Generation Molecular Technologies for Sustainable Agriculture provides a comprehensive picture of the modern-day analytics and approaches being used to provide insights into the interactions between plant and microbe. A wide range of technologies are explored along with practical guides toward these techniques. A detailed understanding of omics data in various areas could be obtained from this compilation. Key Features: • Crosstalk between plant and microbe • Overview of advanced molecular techniques used to study plant-microbe interaction • Practical guide to technologies such as NGS • Omics data analysis used to study plant-microbe interaction • Role of soil metagenomics • Advanced technologies such as nanotechnology and CRISPR serving to study plant-microbe interaction This book will serve as a great reference to various next-generation techniques in the field of plant-microbe interaction, thereby helping to better understand the mechanism. This will also help budding researchers to shape their research in similar areas.

Supplements to the Board's Annual report include the: Report of the medical officer