Carboxylic acids are ubiquitous molecules found in microbial metabolic pathways and that have been explored for a wide array of applications including food preservation (e.g., acetic, propionic, benzoic, and sorbic acids), chemotherapy (e.g., the analgesic acetylsalicylic acid, the immunosuppressor mycophenolic acid or the antimalarial drugs artesunic and artemisinic acids) or agriculture (e.g., the herbicides 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid). This Research Topic contributes to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying adaptation to weak acid stress in microbes, a knowledge base that impacts the fields of Medicine, Health, Food Safety and the Environment.

The development of sustainable and renewable biofuels is attracting growing interest. It is vital to develop robust microbial strains for biocatalysts that are able to function under multiple stress conditions. This Microbiology Monograph provides an overview of methods for studying microbial stress tolerance for biofuels applications using a systems biology approach. Topics covered range from mechanisms to methodology for yeast and bacteria, including the genomics of yeast tolerance and detoxification; genetics and regulation of glycogen and trehalose metabolism; programmed cell death; high gravity fermentations; ethanol tolerance; improving biomass sugar utilization by engineered Saccharomyces; the genomics on tolerance of Zymomonas mobilis; microbial solvent tolerance; control of stress tolerance in bacterial host organisms; metabolomics for ethanologenic yeast; automated proteomics work cell systems for strain improvement; and unification of gene expression data for comparable analyses under stress conditions.

The Janeway's Immunobiology CD-ROM, Immunobiology Interactive, is included with each book, and can be purchased separately. It contains animations and videos with voiceover narration, as well as the figures from the text for presentation purposes.

The human intestine is home of an almost inconceivable large number of microorganisms. The human gut microbiota can therefore be pictured as an organ placed within a host organism. The human gut microbiome, which in total may contain >100 times the number of genes present in our genome, endows us with functional features that we did not have to evolve ourselves. It is recognized that intestinal microbiota plays an important role in human health and disease. In fact, gut bacteria other than metabolize dietary components, may play complex roles such as modulation of the immune system and in reduction of gut infections. Variations in the presence and/or abundance of certain components of the intestinal microbiota have repeatedly been observed in patients that suffer from atopic diseases, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn disease, ulcerative colitis, infectious colitis, colon cancer and diabetes. In this context, bifidobacteria represent one of the most common bacterial members of the human gut microbiota. Bifidobacteria are anaerobic, Gram-positive, irregular or branched rod-shaped bacteria that are commonly found in the gastro-intestinal tracts (GIT) of humans, especially during the first stages of life and most animal and insects. Bifidobacterial fluctuations seem directly associated with health effects and for these reasons they are being exploited as health-promoting or probiotic bacteria. However, despite the extensive commercial exploitation of bifidobacteria as probiotic bacteria, little is known about their impact or dependency on other members of the human gut microbiota or on their host. Genome analyses have highlighted the existence of gene repertoires encoding products that are responsible for the adaptation of bifidobacteria to the human intestine and intense research efforts at international level are ongoing to understand the molecular details of these interactions. Specifically, the molecular interactions that are presumed to exist between bifidobacteria and the human host, as well as interactions between different residents of intestinal microbiota are the main topic of bifidobacterial research communities.

Bacteria in various habitats are subject to continuously changing environmental conditions, such as nutrient deprivation, heat and cold stress, UV radiation, oxidative stress, dessication, acid stress, nitrosative stress, cell envelope stress, heavy metal exposure, osmotic stress, and others. In order to survive, they have to respond to these conditions by adapting their physiology through sometimes drastic changes in gene expression. In addition they may adapt by changing their morphology, forming biofilms, fruiting bodies or spores, filaments, Viable But Not Culturable (VBNC) cells or moving away from stress compounds via chemotaxis. Changes in gene expression constitute the main component of the bacterial response to stress and environmental changes, and involve a myriad of different mechanisms, including (alternative) sigma factors, bi- or tri-component regulatory systems, small non-coding RNA’s, chaperones, CHRIS-Cas systems, DNA repair, toxin-antitoxin systems, the stringent response, efflux pumps, alarmones, and modulation of the cell envelope or membranes, to name a few. Many regulatory elements are conserved in different bacteria; however there are endless variations on the theme and novel elements of gene regulation in bacteria inhabiting particular environments are constantly being discovered. Especially in (pathogenic) bacteria colonizing the human body a plethora of bacterial responses to innate stresses such as pH, reactive nitrogen and oxygen species and antibiotic stress are being described. An attempt is made to not only cover model systems but give a broad overview of the stress-responsive regulatory systems in a variety of bacteria, including medically important bacteria, where elucidation of certain aspects of these systems could lead to treatment strategies of the pathogens. Many of the regulatory systems being uncovered are specific, but there is also considerable “cross-talk” between different circuits. Stress and Environmental Regulation of Gene Expression and Adaptation in Bacteria is a comprehensive two-volume work bringing together both review and original research articles on key topics in stress and environmental control of gene expression in bacteria. Volume One contains key overview chapters, as well as content on one/two/three component regulatory systems and stress responses, sigma factors and stress responses, small non-coding RNAs and stress responses, toxin-antitoxin systems and stress responses, stringent response to stress, responses to UV irradiation, SOS and double stranded systems repair systems and stress, adaptation to both oxidative and osmotic stress, and desiccation tolerance and drought stress. Volume Two covers heat shock responses, chaperonins and stress, cold shock responses, adaptation to acid stress, nitrosative stress, and envelope stress, as well as iron homeostasis, metal resistance, quorum sensing, chemotaxis and biofilm formation, and viable but not culturable (VBNC) cells. Covering the full breadth of current stress and environmental control of gene expression studies and expanding it towards future advances in the field, these two volumes are a one-stop reference for (non) medical molecular geneticists interested in gene regulation under stress.

This book describes cutting-edge science and technology of the characterization, breeding, and development of yeasts and fungi used worldwide in fermentation industries such as alcohol beverage brewing, bread making, and bioethanol production. The book also covers numerous topics and important areas the previous literature has missed, ranging widely from molecular mechanisms to biotechnological applications related to stress response/tolerance of yeasts and fungi. During fermentation processes, cells of yeast and fungus, mostly Saccharomyces and Aspergillus oryzae spp., respectively, are exposed to a variety of fermentation “stresses”. Such stresses lead to growth inhibition or cell death. Under severe stress conditions, their fermentation ability and enzyme productivity are rather limited. Therefore, in terms of industrial application, stress tolerance is the key characteristic for yeast and fungal cells. The first part of this book provides stress response/tolerance mechanisms of yeast used for the production of sake, beer, wine, bread, and bioethanol. The second part covers stress response/tolerance mechanisms of fungi during environmental changes and biological processes of industrial fermentation. Readers benefit nicely from the novel understandings and methodologies of these industrial microbes. The book is suitable for both academic scientists and graduate-level students specialized in applied microbiology and biochemistry and biotechnology and for industrial researchers and engineers who are involved in fermentation-based technologies. The fundamental studies described in this book can be applied to the breeding of useful microbes (yeasts, fungi), the production of valuable compounds (ethanol, CO2, amino acids, organic acids, and enzymes) and the development of promising processes to solve environmental issues (bioethanol, biorefinery).

Soft drinks and fruit juices are produced in almost every country in the world and their availability is remarkable. From the largest cities to some of the remotest villages, soft drinks are available in a variety of flavours and packaging. The market for these products continues to show a remarkable potential for growth. The variety of products and packaging types continues to expand, and among the more significant developments in recent years has been the increase in diet drinks of very high quality, many of which are based on spring or natural mineral water. This book provides an overview of the chemistry and technology of soft drinks and fruit juices. The original edition has been completely revised and extended, with new chapters on Trends in Beverage Markets, Fruit and Juice Processing, Carbohydrate and Intense Sweeteners, Non-Carbonated Beverages, Carbonated Beverages, and Functional Drinks containing Herbal Extracts. It is directed at graduates in food science, chemistry or microbiology entering production, quality control, new product development or marketing in the beverage industry or in companies supplying ingredients or packaging materials to the beverage industry.