Network Bioscience, 2nd Edition

Network Bioscience, 2nd Edition
Author: Marco Pellegrini
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2020-03-27
Genre:
ISBN: 288963650X

Network science has accelerated a deep and successful trend in research that influences a range of disciplines like mathematics, graph theory, physics, statistics, data science and computer science (just to name a few) and adapts the relevant techniques and insights to address relevant but disparate social, biological, technological questions. We are now in an era of 'big biological data' supported by cost-effective high-throughput genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic data collection techniques that allow one to take snapshots of the cells' molecular profiles in a systematic fashion. Moreover recently, also phenotypic data, data on diseases, symptoms, patients, etc. are being collected at nation-wide level thus giving us another source of highly related (causal) 'big data'. This wealth of data is usually modeled as networks (aka binary relations, graphs or webs) of interactions, (including protein-protein, metabolic, signaling and transcription-regulatory interactions). The network model is a key view point leading to the uncovering of mesoscale phenomena, thus providing an essential bridge between the observable phenotypes and 'omics' underlying mechanisms. Moreover, network analysis is a powerful 'hypothesis generation' tool guiding the scientific cycle of 'data gathering', 'data interpretation, 'hypothesis generation' and 'hypothesis testing'. A major challenge in contemporary research is the synthesis of deep insights coming from network science with the wealth of data (often noisy, contradictory, incomplete and difficult to replicate) so to answer meaningful biological questions, in a quantifiable way using static and dynamic properties of biological networks.

The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography

The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography
Author: Stephen P. Hubbell
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 390
Release: 2011-06-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1400837529

Despite its supreme importance and the threat of its global crash, biodiversity remains poorly understood both empirically and theoretically. This ambitious book presents a new, general neutral theory to explain the origin, maintenance, and loss of biodiversity in a biogeographic context. Until now biogeography (the study of the geographic distribution of species) and biodiversity (the study of species richness and relative species abundance) have had largely disjunct intellectual histories. In this book, Stephen Hubbell develops a formal mathematical theory that unifies these two fields. When a speciation process is incorporated into Robert H. MacArthur and Edward O. Wilson's now classical theory of island biogeography, the generalized theory predicts the existence of a universal, dimensionless biodiversity number. In the theory, this fundamental biodiversity number, together with the migration or dispersal rate, completely determines the steady-state distribution of species richness and relative species abundance on local to large geographic spatial scales and short-term to evolutionary time scales. Although neutral, Hubbell's theory is nevertheless able to generate many nonobvious, testable, and remarkably accurate quantitative predictions about biodiversity and biogeography. In many ways Hubbell's theory is the ecological analog to the neutral theory of genetic drift in genetics. The unified neutral theory of biogeography and biodiversity should stimulate research in new theoretical and empirical directions by ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and biogeographers.

New Insight into the Roles of Microorganisms in Municipal and Environmental Engineering Technologies/Systems

New Insight into the Roles of Microorganisms in Municipal and Environmental Engineering Technologies/Systems
Author: Xiaochen Chen
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 111
Release: 2024-01-19
Genre: Science
ISBN: 283254312X

Both municipal engineering and environmental engineering are disciplines aimed at promoting human welfare. The former focuses on establishing life-supporting public infrastructure, while the latter emphasizes treatment and restoration of polluted environment. Typically, the engineers deal with various contaminants (e.g., nutrients, heavy metals and organic contaminants) existing in different environmental media (e.g., soils, water sources, sewage and solid wastes). So far, plenty of technologies and engineering systems have been developed in which microorganisms play important parts. In some cases, microorganisms play a leading role, as their metabolism influences the degradation and transformation of the contaminants. In other cases, as a part of the target environments, microbial communities are forced to change, which reflects the performance of the applied technologies/systems or their impacts on the health of ecosystems and living organisms.

Metabolic Pathway Engineering

Metabolic Pathway Engineering
Author: Jean F. Challacombe
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 116
Release: 2021-07-14
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1000260542

Metabolic systems engineering combines the tools and approaches of systems biology, synthetic biology, and evolutionary engineering. This book reviews studies on metabolism, from the earliest work of Lavoisier and Buchner to current cutting-edge research in metabolic systems engineering. This technology has been used in bioengineering applications to create high-performing microbes and plants that produce important chemicals, pharmaceuticals, crops, and other natural products. Current applications include optimizing metabolic pathways to enhance degradation of biomass for biofuel production and accelerated processing of environmental waste products and contaminants. The book includes examples to illustrate the applications of this technology in the optimization of metabolic pathways to create robust industrial strains as well as in the engineering of biological processes involving health and diseases of humans, animals, and plants. Written by a seasoned computational biologist with many years of experience in genomics, bioinformatics, and systems biology, this book will appeal to anyone interested in metabolic systems analysis and metabolic pathway engineering.

Harnessing Useful Rhizosphere Microorganisms for Pathogen and Pest Biocontrol, Volume II

Harnessing Useful Rhizosphere Microorganisms for Pathogen and Pest Biocontrol, Volume II
Author: Aurelio Ciancio
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 470
Release: 2019-11-28
Genre:
ISBN: 2889632008

The use of biocontrol agents and beneficial organisms for management of plant and pest diseases appears as an environment-friendly and economic procedure. However, this option is not always available, depending on the lack of knowledge on the mechanisms of natural regulation, locally effective. In this view, this eBook considers studies and experimental works illustrating a range of problems and solutions based on microbial resources, suitable for management of biotic stress factors. These examples show how detailed data and knowledge on the organisms involved are of paramount importance to achieve a sustainable and durable management capability.

Bacterial Sensing and Signaling

Bacterial Sensing and Signaling
Author: Mattias Collin
Publisher: Karger Medical and Scientific Publishers
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2009-01-01
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3805591322

Over the last fifteen years it has become increasingly obvious that bacteria are not as simple and solitary as once believed. Rather, an accumulating body of work shows that bacteria are highly complicated and social organisms, constantly sensing their surroundings and altering both their environments and behaviors to ensure survival. Direct communication between bacteria turns out to be quite common, as are coordinated intra- and interspecies responses that include the formation of highly sophisticated microbial communities. In fact, threats to bacterial survival from assaults ranging from nutrient deprivation and oxygen depletion tothe defenses of eukaryotic hostsare all managed through the integration of a dizzying array of complex sensory and communication systems with the appropriate bacterial behaviors. This volume provides an update of the current knowledgeinthe expanding field ofbacterial sensing and signaling, highlighting its most important and interesting aspects. In twelve state-of-the-art articles, respected international experts address topics such as quorum sensing and secondary messengers, chemotaxis and magnetoaerotaxis, two-component phosphotransferase systems, bacterial virulence mechanisms, thermoregulation, and more. The final chapter represents a unique description of the tools available to manipulate many of the sensing and signaling systems described in this volume. Bacterial Sensing and Signaling is recommended reading for students, scientists and clinicians with interests in microbiology, immunology, ecology, biotechnology and a range of other disciplines.