The Flagellar World


Book Description

The Flagellar World is a unique publication. The product of years of research and data collection by the author, this book is a pictorial guide to flagella in a variety of organisms. Each EM image is accompanied by a short description of the system in each organism. These never-before-seen pictures represent a wide variety of flagella, including Legionella pneumophila, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and many others. Researchers in microbiology, immunology, and parasitology will find this a fascinating and useful resource. - A unique publication with many never before seen EM images of flagella - A historical document of years of research on flagella - Fills a specific niche that shows flagella in several varied organisms




Pseudomonas


Book Description

Pseudomonas comprises three volumes covering the biology of pseudomonads in a wide context, including the niches they inhabit, the taxonomic relations among members of this group, the molecular biology of gene expression in different niches and under different environmental conditions, the analysis of virulence traits in plants, animals and human pathogens as well as the determinants that make some strains useful for biotechnological applications and promotion of plant growth. There has been growing interest in pseudomonads and a particular urge to understand the biology underlying the complex metabolism of these ubiquitous microbes. These bacteria are capable of colonizing a wide range of niches, including the soil, the plant rhizosphere and phylosphere, and animal tissues; more recently they have attracted attention because of their capacity to form biofilms, a characteristic with potentially important medical and environmental implications. The three volumes cover the following topics: - Taxonomy, - Genomics, - Life styles, - Cell Architecture, - Virulence, - Regulation, - Macromolecules, - Alternative Respiratory Substrates, - Catabolism and Biotransformations. Pseudomonas will be of use to all researchers working on these bacteria, particularly those studying microbiology, plant crops, pathogenesis, and chemical engineering. Advanced students in biology, medicine and agronomy will also find these three volumes a valuable reference during their studies.




Pili and Flagella


Book Description

This book, the first for many years on this important topic, brings together some of the top scientists in the field and describes the current knowledge and latest research on prokaryotic pili and flagella. The emphasis of the chapters is on the molecular




Biological Innovations that Built the World


Book Description

The book is a detailed account of major biological events that contributed to create the present world and our species, with emphasis on cause-effect interrelationships and environmental impact. Its main goal is to guide the reader toward an understanding of the continuity of life across diversity, and of its large-scale interactions with the planet. Combining scientific soundness with a constant effort for clarity, the book begins with a cloud of dust in a corner of the Galaxy and, covering an immense lapse of time, terminates with an organism that ponders about the texture of the Universe. Comprehensive, updated references added to each chapter will help the reader wishing to expand any of the topics. A glossary explains less common technical terms.







Bacterial Type III Protein Secretion Systems


Book Description

One of the most exciting developments in the field of bacterial pathogenesis in recent years is the discovery that many pathogens utilize complex nanomachines to deliver bacterially encoded effector proteins into eukaryotic and prokaryotic target cells to modulate a variety of cellular functions for the pathogen’s benefit. These protein-delivery machines include the type III secretion system (T3SS), which is widespread in nature and encoded not only by bacteria pathogenic to vertebrates or plants, but also by bacteria that are symbiotic to plants or insects. Because they are essential virulence factors for many important human pathogens, these systems are emerging as a prime target for the development of new-generation, anti-infective drugs. This book reviews our current understanding of these intriguing injection machines as well as of the closely related T3SS that serves in flagella assembly. Individual chapters focus on regulation, assembly, structure, and function of the type III secretion machine and on the evolution of the secreted effector proteins. Given its scope, this book will appeal to a broad readership, including researchers and teachers in the fields of infectious diseases, host pathogen interactions, plant and animal pathogenesis, and symbiosis.




E. coli in Motion


Book Description

Escherichia coli, commonly referred to as E. coli, has been the organism of choice for molecular genetics for decades. Its machinery and mobile behavior is one of the most fascinating topics for cell scientists. Scientists and engineers, not trained in microbiology, and who would like to learn more about living machines, can see it as a unique example. This cross-disciplinary monograph covers more than thirty years of research and is accessible to graduate students and scientists alike.




Perspectives on Bacterial Flagellar Motor


Book Description

The bacterial flagellum is a supramolecular motility machinery consisting of the basal body acting as a rotary motor, the hook as a universal joint and the filament as a helical propeller. The bacterial flagellar motor composed of a rotor ring and a dozen stators is powered by an electrochemical-potential difference of specific ions across the cytoplasmic membrane and rotates in either the counterclockwise (CCW) or clockwise (CW) direction. A sensory signal transduction pathway regulates the switching between the CCW and CW states of the motor in response to environmental stimuli, allowing bacterial cells to migrate more desirable environments for their survival. The core structure of the bacterial flagellum is conserved among bacterial species. However, recent structural analyses of intact flagellar structures derived from various bacterial species by electron cryotomography and subtomogram averaging have shown that novel and divergent structures surround the core structure, suggesting that the flagellar motors have adapted to function in various environments of the habitat of bacteria. This Special Issue of Biomolecules covers recent advances in our understanding of and perspectives on the flagellar motor derived from different bacterial species.




Algal Cell Motility


Book Description

Algae exhibit the greatest variety of cell motility phenomena in the living world. These range from the peculiar gliding motility of filamentous blue green algae or cyanobacteria to chloroplast movements and cytoplasmic streaming which are most common in higher plants. In addition, cell motility by eukaryotic flagella is the characteristic mode of cell locomotion in algal flagellates and most reproductive cells of algae. Algae use these cell motility systems mainly to orient themselves or their photosynthetic organelles in a suitable light gradient to optimize growth and reproduction. In consequence most of the motility systems are coupled to photoreceptors and are regulated by signal transduction cascades. Algal cell motility has thus attracted consid erable interest also from non-phycologists and some algal motility systems have become models of research in cell and molecular biology. This book summarizes some of the progress that has been made in recent years in the analysis of cell motility phenomena in the algae. Although complete coverage of the subject was not attempted, the six chapters cover all the major types of cell motility systems and the authors provide in depth reviews of gliding motility, chloroplast movements, cytoplasmic streaming, flagellar beat pat terns, mechanisms of flagellar movement and centrin-mediated cell motility.




Cell Biology by the Numbers


Book Description

A Top 25 CHOICE 2016 Title, and recipient of the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title (OAT) Award. How much energy is released in ATP hydrolysis? How many mRNAs are in a cell? How genetically similar are two random people? What is faster, transcription or translation?Cell Biology by the Numbers explores these questions and dozens of others provid