Biotechnology is one of the major technologies of the twenty-first century. Its wide-ranging, multi-disciplinary activities include recombinant DNA techniques, cloning and the application of microbiology to the production of goods from bread to antibiotics. In this edited book, the authors provide a complete overview of biotechnology. The fundamental principles that underpin all biotechnology are explained and a full range of examples are discussed to show how these principles are applied; from starting substrate to final product. With the use of comparative studies, this book also discusses the legal, agribusiness and public policy issues that connect intellectual property protection with advancements in agricultural biotechnology.

Over the last few decades, the rapid and vast development of advanced microbial bioresources and metagenomics techniques has completely transformed the field of microbial biotechnology. Our understanding of microbial diversity, evolutionary biology, and microbial interaction with their animal and plant hosts at molecular level has been revolutionized with an abundance of new research. This new volume, Advances in Microbial Biotechnology: Current Trends and Future Prospect, focuses on the application of microorganisms for several purposes: for plant protection and improvement, for environmental remediation purposes, and for the improvement of human health. Various applications of microorganisms are covered broadly and have been appropriately reflected in depth in different chapters. The book is divided into four major sections: applied microbiology in agriculture microbes in the environment microbes in human health microbes in nanotechnology The book provides insight into the diverse microorganisms that have been explored and exploited in the development of various applications for agricultural improvements. The book also looks at the application of microbes for the removal of pollutants and the recovery of metals and oils. Also discussed is the detection and exploitation of microorganisms in the diagnosis of human diseases, providing possible holistic approaches to health. This new volume will provide a wealth of information on new research on the application of microbial biotechnology today.

The rapid increase in microbial resources along with the development of biotechnological methods has revolutionized the field of microbial biotechnology. Genome characterization methods and metagenomic approaches further illustrate the role of microorganisms in various fields of research. Recent Advancement in Microbial Biotechnology: Agricultural and Industrial Approach provides an overview on the recent application of the microorganisms in agricultural and industrial improvements. The purpose of this book is to integrate all these diverse areas of research in a common platform. Recent advancement in Microbial Biotechnology targets researchers from both academia and industry, professors and graduate students working in molecular biology, microbiology and biotechnology. - Gives insight in the exploration of microbial functional diversity in different systems - Highlights important microbes and their role in enhancing agricultural productivity - Provides understanding to the basics with advance information of microbial biotechnology - Explores the importance of microbial genomes studies in agricultural and industrial applications

Recent Developments in Applied Microbiology and Biochemistry, Vol. 2, provides a comprehensive treatment and understanding on application oriented microbial concepts, giving readers insights into recent developments in microbial biotechnology and medical, agricultural and environmental microbiology. - Discusses microbial proteome analyses and their importance in medical microbiology - Explores emerging trends in the prevention of current global health problems, such as cancer, obesity and immunity - Shows recent approaches in the production of novel enzymes from environmental samples by enrichment culture and metagenomics approaches - Guides readers through the status and recent developments in analytical methods for the detection of foodborne microorganisms

Microbial biotechnology is an emerging field with applications in a broad range of sectors involving food security, human nutrition, plant protection and overall basic research in the agricultural sciences. The environment has been sustaining the burden of mankind from time immemorial, and our indiscriminate use of its resources has led to the degradation of the climate, loss of soil fertility, and the need for sustainable strategies. The major focus in the coming decades will be on achieving a green and clean environment by utilizing soil and plant-associated beneficial microbial communities. Plant-microbe interactions include the association of microbes with plant systems: epiphytic, endophytic and rhizospheric. The microbes associated with plant ecosystems play an important role in plant growth, development, and soil health. Moreover, soil and plant microbiomes help to promote plant growth, either directly or indirectly by means of plant growth-promoting mechanisms, e.g. the release of plant growth regulators; solubilization of phosphorus, potassium and zinc; biological nitrogen fixation; or by producing siderophores, ammonia, HCN and other secondary metabolites. These beneficial microbial communities represent a novel and promising solution for agro-environmental sustainability by providing biofertilizers, bioprotectants, and biostimulants, in addition to mitigating various types of abiotic stress in plants. This book focuses on plant-microbe interactions; the biodiversity of soil and plant microbiomes; and their role in plant growth and soil health. Accordingly, it will be immensely useful to readers working in the biological sciences, especially microbiologists, biochemists and microbial biotechnologists.

The book provides an overview of current trends in biotechnology and medicinal plant sciences. The work includes detailed chapters on various advance biotechnological tools involved in production of phytoactive compounds of medicinal significance. Some recent and novel research studies on therapeutic applications of different medicinal plants from various geographical regions of the world have also been included. These studies report the antimicrobial activity of various natural plant products against various pathogenic microbial strains. Informative chapters on recent emerging applications of plant products such as source for nutraceuticals and vaccines have been integrated to cover latest advances in the field. This book also explores the conservation aspect of medicinal plants. Thus, chapters having comprehensively complied in vitro conservation protocols for various commercially important rare, threatened and endangered medicinal plants were provided in the present book.