SGM Symposium 66: Prokaryotic Diversity: Mechanisms and Significance

Edited by N. A. Logan, H. M. Lappin-Scott & P. C. F. Oyston.
Published April 2006 by Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-86935-8.

The true extent of prokaryote diversity, encompassing the spectrum of variability among bacteria, remains unknown. Early discussions on prokaryote diversity were frequently devoted to sterile arguments about 'how much?' or 'how many?'. Increasingly, however, the focus is turning towards trying to understand why prokaryote diversification occurs, its underlying mechanisms, and its likely impact. The significance of such studies has a broad appeal, and the popular scientific press frequently highlights such topics as the emergence of new diseases, the attribution of existing diseases to hitherto unrealized actions of prokaryotes, and the activities of prokaryotes in key environmental processes. The dynamic nature of the prokaryotic world, and continuing advances in the technological tools available to this Þeld of study, ensure that the latest story illustrating prokaryote diversity is never far away. This book will appeal to a wide variety of microbiologists. Its coverage ranges from studies of prokaryotes in specialized environmental niches to broad examinations of prokaryote evolution and diversity, and the mechanisms underlying them. Topics include: bacteria of the gastrointestinal tract, unculturable organisms in the mouth and in the soil, the question of a link between chlamydia and heart disease, organisms from extreme environments, the diversity of archaea and their phages, comparative genomics and the emergence of pathogens, spread of genomic islands between clinical and environmental organisms, core genes, minimal genomes needed for life, horizontal gene transfer, genomic islands and the evolution of catabolic pathways, phenotypic innovation, and patterns and extent of biodiversity.

SGM Symposium 65: Micro-organisms and Earth systems - advances in geomicrobiology

Edited by G. M. Gadd, K. T. Semple & H. M. Lappin-Scott.
Published September 2005 by Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-86222-1.

There is growing awareness that important environmental transformations are catalysed, mediated and influenced by micro-organisms, and such knowledge is having an increasing influence on disciplines other than microbiology, such as geology and mineralogy. Geomicrobiology can be defined as the study of the role that microbes have played and are playing in processes of fundamental importance to geology. As such, it is a truly inter-disciplinary subject area, necessitating input from physical, chemical and biological sciences. The book focuses on some important microbial functions in aquatic and terrestrial environments and their influence on 'global' processes and includes state-of-the-art approaches to visualization, culture and identification, community interactions and gene transfer, and diversity studies in relation to key processes. Microbial involvement in key global biogeochemical cycles is exemplified by aquatic and terrestrial examples. All major groups of geochemically active microbes are represented, including cyanobacteria, bacteria, archaea, microalgae and fungi, in a wide range of habitats, reflecting the wealth of diversity in both the natural and the microbial world. This book represents environmental microbiology in its broadest sense and will help to promote exciting collaborations between microbiologists and those in complementary physical and chemical disciplines.

SGM Symposium 64: Molecular Pathogenesis of Virus Infections

Edited by P. Digard, A. A. Nash & R. E. Randall.
Published April 2005 by Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-83248-9.

Virus and prion diseases remain a major public health threat, in both developed and developing countries. The worldwide HIV pandemic is but one example of a newly emerged virus disease; other potential threats come from exotic viruses such as SARS, Ebola and Hantaan viruses. Older human viruses such as influenza, papilloma, herpes and the hepatitis viruses still cause major health problems. Furthermore, as well as causing acute infections, some viruses may also establish persistent infections which can lead to the development of chronic diseases, including cancer. This symposium book covers central factors that influence the pathogenicity of virus and prion infections. Topics range from innate and adaptive immune responses and virus evasion of host defences to details of selected virus-host interactions, including those involving dengue virus, HIV, influenza viruses, coronaviruses, hepatitis C virus, herpesviruses, papillomaviruses, African swine fever virus and poxviruses.

SGM Symposium 63: Microbe-Vector Interactions in Vector-borne Diseases

Edited by S.H. Gillespie, G.L. Smith & A. Osbourn.
Published March 2004 by Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-84312-X.

Several billion people are at daily risk of life-threatening vector-borne diseases such as malaria, trypanosomiasis and dengue, and the dark shadow of plague hovers in the few endemic foci where it waits ready to re-emerge in a deadly pandemic. The abortive attempt to control malaria in the 1960s showed us the problem that we face in eradicating vector-borne diseases. Research into these tropical diseases fell into neglect during the 1960s, but in the 1970s research was once more directed towards vector-borne diseases and more recent initiatives such as the Roll Back Malaria Campaign have kept them in the international spotlight. If we are not to repeat the mistakes of the past it will be necessary to use all of our knowledge of vector biology.

Written by international researchers in the field this volume describes the way in which pathogens interact with the vectors that transmit them. It details the elegant biological adaptations that have enabled pathogens to live with their vectors and in some circumstances control them. This knowledge has led to new control strategies in the form of antibiotics and new vaccines which are targeted not at the pathogen but at its vector. The recent epidemic of West Nile virus infection in the United States and of Nipah virus in Malaysia suggests that vector-borne diseases are of growing concern to everyone. Microbe-Vector Interactions in Vector-borne Diseases is essential reading for researchers and clinicians working with these diseases.

SGM Symposium 62: Microbial Subversion of Host Cells

Edited by C.D. O'Connor and D.G.E. Smith.
Published April 2003 by Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-82998-4.

This volume reviews the exciting new discipline of cellular microbiology, reflecting both the explosion of knowledge in this area and the realization that it provides wider insights into fundamental cellular processes. The authors, chosen for their contributions to the field, cover all the salient aspects using a range of different systems.

Microbes have co-evolved with other organisms for eons, to the extent that some are so acquainted with host cell biology that they subvert key cellular processes with unrivalled precision. Pathogenic bacteria and viruses, for example, are extremely adept at intercepting host signal transduction pathways, re-routing protein traffic, remodelling the cytoskeleton and influencing host cell differentiation or death. Symbionts and commensal organisms, too, have evolved sophisticated strategies to derive benefit from the host environment without eliciting responses that compromise their viability. While we are only just beginning to understand how microbes carry out such manipulations of host cells, information in this area is accelerating spectacularly. This timely book summarizes current knowledge and will stimulate further research in this important area.

SGM Symposium 61: Signals, Switches, Regulons and Cascades: Control of Bacterial Gene Expression

Edited by D.A. Hodgson and C.M. Thomas.
Published April 2002 by Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-81388-3.

DNA sequencing has provided a wealth of information on the genetic material stored in bacterial genomes. The use of DNA arrays and proteomics will transform the scale of our ability to describe the patterns of gene expression as bacteria respond to their environments. However, the ability to control bacteria in a clinical context or exploit them in industrial or environmental contexts also depends on understanding the regulatory mechanisms which connect input experience to output response at the genetic level. This book deals with our current knowledge of the circuits and networks that govern bacterial gene expression - from the single gene to the whole genome - and which provide the framework for explaining the data from the post-genomics revolution.

SGM Symposium 60: New Challenges to Health: the Threat of Virus Infection

Edited by G.L. Smith, W.L. Irving, J.W. McCauley and D.J. Rowlands.
Published March 2001 by Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-80614-3.

Viruses continually evolve and adapt, posing new threats to health. This book discusses the ecology of viruses including the emergence of devastating haemorrhagic disease, and reviews the molecular and cell biological basis of the pathogenesis of several virus diseases. An introduction is given to the mathematical analysis of recurrent epidemic virus disease, such as measles. Neurological and psychological disease is discussed in relation to the pathological mechanisms that may underlie prion disease (such as new variant CJD) and to the possible virus involvement in human psychiatric illness. Virus infections that have come to prominence recently (HIV, bunyaviruses, morbilliviruses and caliciviruses) or that remain a threat (influenza and hepatitis viruses) are discussed. There are also chapters on new and potential niches for virus infections in the immunocompromised, and the problem of the emergence of antiviral drug resistance in viruses for which therapies exist.

SGM Symposium 59: Community Structure and Co-operation in Biofilms

Edited by D.G. Allison, P. Gilbert, H.M. Lappin-Scott and M. Wilson.
Published September 2000 by Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-79302-5.

The study of biofilm considers the close association of micro-organisms with each other at interfaces and the consequent physiological adaptation to the proximity of other cells and surfaces. As such it is relevant to a variety of disciplines, including medicine, dentistry, bioremediation, biofouling, water technology, engineering and food science. Although the habitats studied, and their associated cellular communities, differ widely, some common elements exist such as method of attachment, coadhesion, regulation of biofilm phenotype and biofilm architecture. This book aims to distil the common principles of biofilm physiology and growth for all interested disciplines. It will appeal to the specialist biofilm researcher as well as to students wishing to introduce themselves to the topic.

Millennium Meeting Symposium Volume: Fighting Infection in the 21st Century

Edited by P.W. Andrew, P. Oyston, G.L. Smith and D.E. Stewart-Tull.
Published October 2000 by Blackwell Science.
ISBN 0-632-05817-X.
Full price £65. Discounted price to SGM or SfAM members £39 (membership number required). Postage extra.

Orders to Science Marketing Department, Blackwell Science Ltd, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0EL. Tel 01865 206013, fax 01865 721205.

The 20th century saw improvements in public health and disease prevention which have had a dramatic impact on our lives. Success in preventing infection by vaccination and treating infection with antibiotics led some to believe that infectious disease was a thing of the past. However, the adaptability of pathogens and the emergence of new diseases have presented microbiologists with a new set of challenges as we enter the new millennium. While celebrating past successes and highlighting developing problems, this volume aims to address some of the issues facing microbiologists in the future. Covering a wide range of topics, it will provide an invaluable resource for microbiologists and an excellent reference for advanced students.

Last updated 6 April 2006