Seeming sometimes more like science fiction than science, anaerobic bacteria have been at the center of a number of exciting new discoveries. This volume discusses and explains the diversity of metabolism, modes of protein transport, molecular biology and physiology of these unusual microbes. It has practical applications ranging from wastewater treatment to clinical diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions.

Bacterial Physiology focuses on the physiology and chemistry of microorganisms and the value of bacterial physiology in the other fields of biology. The selection first underscores the chemistry and structure of bacterial cells, including the chemical composition of cells, direct and indirect methods of cytology, vegetative multiplication, spores of bacteria, and cell structure. The text then elaborates on inheritance, variation, and adaptation and growth of bacteria. The publication reviews the physical and chemical factors affecting growth and death. Topics include hydrogen ion concentration and osmotic pressure; surface and other forces determining the distribution of bacteria in their environment; dynamics of disinfection and bacteriostasis; bacterial resistance; and types of antibacterial agents. The text also ponders on the anaerobic dissimilation of carbohydrates, bacterial oxidations, and autotrophic assimilation of carbon dioxide. The selection is a dependable reference for readers interested in bacterial physiology.

Microbial Physiology and Biochemistry Laboratory illustrates the major features of growth and metabolism discussed in David White's The Physiology and Biochemistry of Prokaryotes (OUP, 1995). It serves as an ideal adjunct to this text and can also be used in conjunction with other books for the laboratory component of a microbial physiology course. All of the experiments described in this manual have been taught as part of a laboratory course for junior and senior biology and microbiology majors at Indiana University. In addition to reinforcing what students learn in lecture, the experiments guide students through a wide spectrum of analytical techniques including enzyme assays, macromolecular assays, column chromatography, gel electrophoresis, and gas chromatography. Along with enzyme assays and enzyme purification, students do experiments measuring oxygen uptake, chemotaxis, fermentation, and bacterial luminescence. The organisms studied include Escherichia, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Proteus, Rhodospirillum, Photobacterium, and Saccharomyces. The volume is enhanced by appendices which include sections on quantitative problems and their solutions, instructions on how to write a laboratory report, and independent projects that are extensions of the class experiments. The number of experiments exceeds the amount of material usually offered in one semester, giving instructors the option to choose those experiments that are most appropriate for their classes.

Microbial physiology, biochemistry and genetics allowed the formulation of concepts that turned out to be important in the study of higher organisms. In the first section, the principles of bacterial growth are given, as well as the description of the different layers that enclose the bacterial cytoplasm, and their role in obtaining nutrients from the outside media through different permeability mechanism described in detail. A chapter is devoted to allostery and is indispensable for the comprehension of many regulatory mechanisms described throughout the book. Another section analyses the mechanisms by which cells obtain the energy necessary for their growth, glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, the tricarboxylic and the anaplerotic cycles. Two chapters are devoted to classes of microorganisms rarely dealt with in textbooks, namely the Archaea, mainly the methanogenic bacteria, and the methylotrophs. Eight chapters describe the principles of the regulations at the transcriptional level, with the necessary knowledge of the machineries of transcription and translation. The next fifteen chapters deal with the biosynthesis of the cell building blocks, amino acids, purine and pyrimidine nucleotides and deoxynucleotides, water-soluble vitamins and coenzymes, isoprene and tetrapyrrole derivatives and vitamin B12. The two last chapters are devoted to the study of protein-DNA interactions and to the evolution of biosynthetic pathways. The considerable advances made in the last thirty years in the field by the introduction of gene cloning and sequencing and by the exponential development of physical methods such as X-ray crystallography or nuclear magnetic resonance have helped presenting metabolism under a multidisciplinary attractive angle.

Recent determination of genome sequences for a wide range of bacteria has made in-depth knowledge of prokaryotic metabolic function essential in order to give biochemical, physiological, and ecological meaning to the genomic information. Clearly describing the important metabolic processes that occur in prokaryotes under different conditions and in different environments, this advanced text provides an overview of the key cellular processes that determine bacterial roles in the environment, biotechnology, and human health. Prokaryotic structure is described as well as the means by which nutrients are transported into cells across membranes. Glucose metabolism through glycolysis and the TCA cycle are discussed, as well as other trophic variations found in prokaryotes, including the use of organic compounds, anaerobic fermentation, anaerobic respiratory processes, and photosynthesis. The regulation of metabolism through control of gene expression and control of the activity of enzymes is also covered, as well as survival mechanisms used under starvation conditions.

Bacterial Physiology and Biochemistry provides the most current, authoritative, and relevant presentation of bacterial physiology and biochemistry on subject, chemical composition and functional bacterial cell structure, nutrition and growth, the process of cell differentiation, metabolism and the influence of environmental factors. The book helps the reader learn and obtain modern knowledges on bacterial physiology and biochemistry, including chemical composition and functional cell structures, bacterial nutrition and growth, and the processes of cell differentiation, bacterial metabolism and microbial growth in nature, and the effect of environmental factors on bacterial cells. This book is an educational resource designed for use in advanced bachelor's and master's courses in biology, including microbiology, biochemistry and molecular biology. It contains curriculum taught to biology students specializing in microbiology. - Contains modern original color illustrations of biochemical and metabolic processes - Provides condensed knowledge on microbiology, microbial kinetics and microbial physiology - Includes easy-to-find information on key metabolic pathways in aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms

Describes a range of topics of interest to microbiologists, these include the structure, physiology, and biochemistry of bacteria, as well as cell-cell signaling, microbial development, and biofilm formation. The notes at the end of each chapter provide information on the topics discussed in the chapter.