Microorganisms in Environmental Management

Microorganisms in Environmental Management
Author: T. Satyanarayana
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 827
Release: 2012-01-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 940072229X

Microbes and their biosynthetic capabilities have been invaluable in finding solutions for several intractable problems mankind has encountered in maintaining the quality of the environment. They have, for example, been used to positive effect in human and animal health, genetic engineering, environmental protection, and municipal and industrial waste treatment. Microorganisms have enabled feasible and cost-effective responses which would have been impossible via straightforward chemical or physical engineering methods. Microbial technologies have of late been applied to a range of environmental problems, with considerable success. This survey of recent scientific progress in usefully applying microbes to both environmental management and biotechnology is informed by acknowledgement of the polluting effects on the world around us of soil erosion, the unwanted migration of sediments, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and the improper treatment of human and animal wastes. These harmful phenomena have resulted in serious environmental and social problems around the world, problems which require us to look for solutions elsewhere than in established physical and chemical technologies. Often the answer lies in hybrid applications in which microbial methods are combined with physical and chemical ones. When we remember that these highly effective microorganisms, cultured for a variety of applications, are but a tiny fraction of those to be found in the world around us, we realize the vastness of the untapped and beneficial potential of microorganisms. At present, comprehending the diversity of hitherto uncultured microbes involves the application of metagenomics, with several novel microbial species having been discovered using culture-independent approaches. Edited by recognized leaders in the field, this penetrating assessment of our progress to date in deploying microorganisms to the advantage of environmental management and biotechnology will be widely welcomed.

An Introduction to Ecological Genomics

An Introduction to Ecological Genomics
Author: Nico M. van Straalen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2012
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0199594686

The authors also provide a comparative survey of the properties of genomes (genome size, gene families, synteny, and polymorphism) for prokaryotes as well as the main eukaryotic models.

Organohalide-Respiring Bacteria

Organohalide-Respiring Bacteria
Author: Lorenz Adrian
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 620
Release: 2016-08-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3662498758

This book summarizes the current state of knowledge concerning bacteria that use halogenated organic compounds as respiratory electron acceptors. The discovery of organohalide-respiring bacteria has expanded the range of electron acceptors used for energy conservation, and serves as a prime example of how scientific discoveries are enabling innovative engineering solutions that have transformed remediation practice. Individual chapters provide in-depth background information on the discovery, isolation, phylogeny, biochemistry, genomic features, and ecology of individual organohalide-respiring genera, including Dehalococcoides, Dehalogenimonas, Dehalobacter, Desulfitobacterium and Sulfurospirillum, as well as organohalide-respiring members of the Deltaproteobacteria. The book introduces readers to the fascinating biology of organohalide-respiring bacteria, offering a valuable resource for students, engineers and practitioners alike.

Dehalogenation

Dehalogenation
Author: Max M. Häggblom
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 702
Release: 2007-05-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0306480115

Halogenated organic compounds constitute one of the largest groups of environmental chemicals. The industrial production of new halogenated organic compounds has increased throughout the last century peaking in the 1960s, and continuing in widespread use today. Organohalides are integral to a variety of industrial applications, including use as solvents, degreasing agents, biocides, pharmaceuticals, plasticizers, hydraulic and heat transfer fluids, and intermediates for chemical synthesis, to name a few. It is important to recognize the beneficial aspects of halogenated organic compounds, as well as their potentially deleterious impact on the environment and health. Recognition ofthe adverse environmental effects ofmanytypes oforganohalide compounds has led to efforts to reduce or eliminate the most problematic ones. Although organohalide compounds are typically considered to be anthropogenic industrial compounds, they have their counterpart in several thousands of natural biogenic and geogenic organohalides, representing most classes of organic chemicals. Natural sources account for a significant portion of the global organohalogen budget. This volume authored by recognized experts in the field provides a current perspective on how both natural and synthetic organohalides are formed and degraded, and how these processes are incorporated into a global halogen cycle. The focus is on microbial processes, since these play a major role both in the production and degradation, i. e. , cycling of halogenated organic compounds inthe environment. This book is organized into five parts. Part I, Introduction, provides a global perspective on the issues of organohalides and their fate in the environment.

Bioaugmentation for Groundwater Remediation

Bioaugmentation for Groundwater Remediation
Author: Hans F. Stroo
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 421
Release: 2012-10-02
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1461441153

​This volume provides a review of the past 10 to 15 years of intensive research, development and demonstrations that have been on the forefront of developing bioaugmentation into a viable remedial technology. This volume provides both a primer on the basic microbial processes involved in bioaugmentation, as well as a thorough summary of the methodology for implementing the technology. This reference volume will serve as a valuable resource for environmental remediation professionals who seek to understand, evaluate, and implement bioaugmentation.

Synthetic Gene Circuits

Synthetic Gene Circuits
Author: Filippo Menolascina
Publisher: Humana
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2022-01-21
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9781071610343

This volume provides clear and direct protocols to implement automated Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) into synthetic biology research. Chapters detail techniques to model and simulate biological systems, redesign biological systems, setting up of an automated biolaboratory, step-by-step guide on how to perform computer aided design, RNA sequencing, microfluidics -using bacterial cell free extracts, live mammalian cells, computational and experimental procedures, metabolic burden, computational techniques to predict such burden from models, and how DNA parts can be engineered in mammalian cells to sense, and respond to, and intracellular signals in general. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Synthetic Gene Circuits: Methods and Protocols aims to ensure successful results in the further study of this vital field.

Environmental Stress, Adaptation, and Evolution

Environmental Stress, Adaptation, and Evolution
Author: Rudolf Bijlsma
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 352
Release: 1997-09-23
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9783764356958

Most organisms and populations have to cope with hostile environments, threatening their existence. Their ability to respond phenotypically and genetically to these challenges and to evolve adaptive mechanisms is, therefore, crucial. The contributions to this book aim at understanding, from a evolutionary perspective, the impact of stress on biological systems. Scientists, applying different approaches spanning from the molecular and the protein level to individuals, populations and ecosystems, explore how organisms adapt to extreme environments, how stress changes genetic structure and affects life histories, how organisms cope with thermal stress through acclimation, and how environmental and genetic stress induce fluctuating asymmetry, shape selection pressure and cause extinction of populations. Finally, it discusses the role of stress in evolutionary change, from stress induced mutations and selection to speciation and evolution at the geological time scale. The book contains reviews and novel scientific results on the subject. It will be of interest to both researchers and graduate students and may serve as a text for graduate courses.

The Prokaryotes

The Prokaryotes
Author: Edward F. DeLong
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 662
Release: 2013-03-22
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9783642301421

The Prokaryotes is a comprehensive, multi-authored, peer reviewed reference work on Bacteria and Achaea. This fourth edition of The Prokaryotes is organized to cover all taxonomic diversity, using the family level to delineate chapters. Different from other resources, this new Springer product includes not only taxonomy, but also prokaryotic biology and technology of taxa in a broad context. Technological aspects highlight the usefulness of prokaryotes in processes and products, including biocontrol agents and as genetics tools. The content of the expanded fourth edition is divided into two parts: Part 1 contains review chapters dealing with the most important general concepts in molecular, applied and general prokaryote biology; Part 2 describes the known properties of specific taxonomic groups. Two completely new sections have been added to Part 1: bacterial communities and human bacteriology. The bacterial communities section reflects the growing realization that studies on pure cultures of bacteria have led to an incomplete picture of the microbial world for two fundamental reasons: the vast majority of bacteria in soil, water and associated with biological tissues are currently not culturable, and that an understanding of microbial ecology requires knowledge on how different bacterial species interact with each other in their natural environment. The new section on human microbiology deals with bacteria associated with healthy humans and bacterial pathogenesis. Each of the major human diseases caused by bacteria is reviewed, from identifying the pathogens by classical clinical and non-culturing techniques to the biochemical mechanisms of the disease process. The 4th edition of The Prokaryotes is the most complete resource on the biology of prokaryotes. The following volumes are published consecutively within the 4th Edition: Prokaryotic Biology and Symbiotic Associations Prokaryotic Communities and Ecophysiology Prokaryotic Physiology and Biochemistry Applied Bacteriology and Biotechnology Human Microbiology Actinobacteria Firmicutes Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria Gammaproteobacteria Deltaproteobacteria and Epsilonproteobacteria Other Major Lineages of Bacteria and the Archaea

Environmental Biotechnology

Environmental Biotechnology
Author: Jeyabalan Sangeetha
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 434
Release: 2016-10-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1771883634

With focus on the practical use of modern biotechnology for environmental sustainability, this book provides a thoughtful overview of molecular aspects of environmental studies to create a new awareness of fundamental biological processes and sustainable ecological concerns. It covers the latest research by prominent scientists in modern biology and delineates recent and prospective applications in the sub-areas of environmental biotechnology with special focus on the biodegradation of toxic pollutants, bioremediation of contaminated environments, and bioconversion of organic wastes toward a green economy and sustainable future.

Soil Pollution - An Emerging Threat to Agriculture

Soil Pollution - An Emerging Threat to Agriculture
Author: Jayanta K. Saha
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2017-04-05
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9811042748

The book provides reader with a comprehensive up-to-date overview of various aspects of soil pollutants manifestation of toxicity. The book highlights their interactions with soil constituents, their toxicity to agro-ecosystem & human health, methodologies of toxicity assessment along with remediation technologies for the polluted land by citing case studies. It gives special emphasis on scenario of soil pollution threats in developing countries and ways to counteract these in low cost ways which have so far been ignored. It also explicitly highlights the need for soil protection policy and identifies its key considerations after analyzing basic functions of soil and the types of threats perceived. This book will be a useful resource for graduate students and researchers in the field of environmental and agricultural sciences, as well as for personnel involved in environmental impact assessment and policy making.