Topics in Ecological and Environmental Microbiology

Topics in Ecological and Environmental Microbiology provides an overview of ecological aspects of the metabolism and behavior of microbes, microbial habitats, biogeochemical cycles, and biotechnology. This essential reference was designed by selecting relevant chapters from the authoritative and comprehensive Encyclopedia of Microbiology, 3rd edn., and inviting the original authors to update their material to include key developments and advances in the field. This concise and affordable book is an essential reference for students and researchers in microbiology, mycology, immunology, environmental sciences, and biotechnology.

Table of Contents:
Part I. Microbial Ecology Principles of Microbial Ecology Microbial Food Webs Biofilms Microbial Mats Horizontal Gene Transfer: Uptake of Extracellular DNA by Bacteria   Picoeukaryotes Algal Blooms Environmental Viral Pool Aeromicrobiology Endophytic Microbes Part II. Metabolism and Behavior of Diverse Microbes Methanogenesis Methanotrophy Microbial Photosynthesis Regulation of Carbon Assimilation Microbial Resistance to Heavy Metals Microbial Adhesion Bacterial Bioluminescence Magnetotaxis Quorum Sensing Chemotaxis Part III. Microbial Habitats Acid Environments Hot environments Cold Environments Dry Environments (including Cryptoendoliths) Marine Habitats High-Pressure Habitats The Deep Sub-surface Deep-sea Hydrothermal Vents Freshwater Habitats Low-Nutrient Environments Sediment Habitats The Rhizosphere Part IV. Biogeochemical Cycles and their Consequences The Nitrogen Cycle The Phosphorus cycle The Sulfur Cycle Cycling of Some Redox-Active Metals Heavy Metal Pollutants: Environmental and Biotechnological Aspects Part V. Biotechnological Topics Biodeterioration-including Cultural Heritage Bisensors Gnotiobiotic and Axenic Animals Microbial Corrosion Petroleum Microbiology Metal Extraction and Biomining Industrial Water Treatment Wastewater Treatment of Non-Infectious Hazards Drinking Water Spacecraft Associated Microbes Biological Warfare

About the Author :
Dr. Schmidt has been investigating the structure, function, and dynamics of microbial communities in natural ecosystems for over 20 years, most recently focusing on microbial communities in the human GI tract. He brings the perspective gained from being EIC of the 4th Edition of the Encyclopedia of Microbiology along with the experience he has gained studying diverse microbes and microbial communities. His research group helped pioneer the methods for culture-independent analyses of microbial communities and they continue to refine and apply those methods using ecological theories as a basis to track microbial populations in nature. In 2015, he refocused his research from agroecosystems to the human gut microbiome and is studying the impact of dietary fibers on the structure and function of human gut microbiome. His goal is to engineer the human gut microbiome to reduce inflammation, including through the use of dietary fiber supplements. Dr Schmidt guides a research laboratory that is recognized for expertise in the isolation and study of pure cultures of microbes and communities of microbes both in vitro and in vivo. Dr. Schmidt is an elected member of the American Academy for Microbiology, is a former director of the internationally acclaimed Woods Hole Microbial Diversity Course and has been awarded the Graduate Teaching Award from the American Society for Microbiology, the university wide Teacher-Scholar award at Michigan State University, and most recently the Provost’s Innovation Prize for outstanding teaching at the University of Michigan. Dr. Schaechter is a Distinguished Professor, Emeritus at Tufts University, where he served as chairman of the Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology from 1970 to 1993. He has worked on bacterial growth physiology and the relationship of the chromosome and the bacterial cell membrane. He has authored ten treatises and textbooks, most in collaboration with others, plus a book for the general public, In the Company of Mushrooms. He has served as President of the American Society for Microbiology. Currently, he is Adjunct Professor Emeritus, Biology Department, at San Diego State University and Visiting Scholar at the University of California, San Diego.