This book focuses on the recent advents and technological breakthroughs in metagenomic approaches coupled with their applications in agriculture. The intended audience include soil and environmental microbiologists, molecular biologists and policy makers. The book expertly describes the latest fourth generation metagenomic technologies from sample collection to data analysis, metatranscriptomic, metaproteomic and metabolomics studies Note: T& F does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Although we can't usually see them, microbes are essential for every part of human life-indeed all life on Earth. The emerging field of metagenomics offers a new way of exploring the microbial world that will transform modern microbiology and lead to practical applications in medicine, agriculture, alternative energy, environmental remediation, and many others areas. Metagenomics allows researchers to look at the genomes of all of the microbes in an environment at once, providing a "meta" view of the whole microbial community and the complex interactions within it. It's a quantum leap beyond traditional research techniques that rely on studying-one at a time-the few microbes that can be grown in the laboratory. At the request of the National Science Foundation, five Institutes of the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Energy, the National Research Council organized a committee to address the current state of metagenomics and identify obstacles current researchers are facing in order to determine how to best support the field and encourage its success. The New Science of Metagenomics recommends the establishment of a "Global Metagenomics Initiative" comprising a small number of large-scale metagenomics projects as well as many medium- and small-scale projects to advance the technology and develop the standard practices needed to advance the field. The report also addresses database needs, methodological challenges, and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in supporting this new field.

This book is for the students starting their research projects in the field of metagenomics, for researchers interested in the new developments and applications in this field; and for teachers involved in teaching this subject. The book is divided into three sections as indicated from its title, namely; the basics of metagenomics, metagenomic analysis, and applications of metagenomics. It covers the basics of metagenomics from its history and background, to the analysis of metagenomic data as well as its recent applications in different fields. The book contains excellent texts at both the introductory and advanced levels, that describe the latest metagenomic approaches and applications, from sampling to data analysis for taxonomic, environmental, and medical studies. Finally, the publication of this book was an interesting journey for me and I hope the readers will enjoy reading it.

A guide to the role microbes play in the enhanced production and productivity of agriculture to feed our growing population Phytomicrobiome Interactions and Sustainable Agriculture offers an essential guide to the importance of ‘Phytomicrobiome’ and explores its various components. The authors – noted experts on the topic – explore the key benefits of plant development such as nutrient availability, amelioration of stress and defense to plant disease. Throughout the book, the authors introduce and classify the corresponding Phytomicrobiome components and then present a detailed discussion related to its effect on plant development: controlling factors of this biome, its behaviour under the prevailing climate change condition and beneficial effects. The book covers the newly emerging technical concept of Phytomicrobiome engineering, which is an advanced concept to sustain agricultural productivity in recent climatic scenario. The text is filled with comprehensive, cutting edge data, making it possible to access this ever-growing wealth of information. This important book: Offers a one-stop resource on phytomicrobiome concepts Provides a better understanding of the topic and how it can be employed for understanding plant development Contains a guide to sustaining agriculture using phytomicrobiome engineering Presents information that can lead to enhanced production and productivity to feed our growing population Written for students, researchers and policy makers of plant biology, Phytomicrobiome Interactions and Sustainable Agriculture offers a clear understanding of the importance of microbes in overall plant growth and development.

In the ten years since the publication of Modern Soil Microbiology, the study of soil microbiology has significantly changed, both in the understanding of the diversity and function of soil microbial communities and in research methods. Ideal for students in a variety of disciplines, this second edition provides a cutting-edge examination of a fascinating discipline that encompasses ecology, physiology, genetics, molecular biology, and biotechnology, and makes use of biochemical and biophysical approaches. The chapters cover topics ranging from the fundamental to the applied and describe the use of advanced methods that have provided a great thrust to the discipline of soil microbiology. Using the latest molecular analyses, they integrate principles of soil microbiology with novel insights into the physiology of soil microorganisms. The authors discuss the soil and rhizosphere as habitats for microorganisms, then go on to describe the different microbial groups, their adaptive responses, and their respective processes in interactive and functional terms. The book highlights a range of applied aspects of soil microbiology, including the nature of disease-suppressive soils, the use of biological control agents, biopesticides and bioremediation agents, and the need for correct statistics and experimentation in the analyses of the data obtained from soil systems.

Metagenomics has taken off as one of the major cutting-edge fields of research. The field has broad implications for human health and disease, animal production, and environmental health. Metagenomics has opened up a wealth of data, tools, technologies and applications that allow us to access the majority of organisms that we still cannot access in pure culture (an estimated 99% of microbial life). Numerous research groups are developing tools, approaches and applications to deal with this new field, as larger data sets from environments including the human body, the oceans and soils are being generated. See for example the human microbiome initiative (HMP; http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/hmp/) which has become a world-wide effort, and the Global Ocean Sampling (GOS) surveys; http://www.jcvi.org/cms/research/projects/gos/overview/). The number of publications as measured through PubMed that are focused on metagenomics continues to increase. The field of metagenomics continues to evolve with large common datasets available to the scientific community. A concerted effort is needed to collate all this information in a centralized place. By having all the information in an Encyclopedia form, we have an opportunity to gather seminal contributions from the leaders in the field, and at the same time provide this information to a significant number of junior and senior scientists. It is anticipated that the Encyclopedia will also be used by many other groups including, clinicians, undergraduate and graduate level students, as well as ethical and legal groups associated with or interested in the issues surrounding metagenome science.

In this book, the latest tools available for functional metagenomics research are described.This research enables scientists to directly access the genomes from diverse microbial genomes at one time and study these “metagenomes”. Using the modern tools of genome sequencing and cloning, researchers have now been able to harness this astounding metagenomic diversity to understand and exploit the diverse functions of microorganisms. Leading scientists from around the world demonstrate how these approaches have been applied in many different settings, including aquatic and terrestrial habitats, microbiomes, and many more environments. This is a highly informative and carefully presented book, providing microbiologists with a summary of the latest functional metagenomics literature on all specific habitats.