Discover the World of Microbes

PrefacePrologueREADING SECTION1 Extremely small but incredibly active2 Bacteria are organisms like you and me3 My name is LUCA4 From the Big Bang to LUCA5 O26 Life in boiling water7 Life in the Dead Sea8 Bacteria and archaea are everywhere9 The power of photosynthesis, even in almost complete darkness10 Man and his microbes11 Without bacteria there is no protein 12 Napoleon's victory gardens13 Alessandro Volta's and George Washington's combustible air14 Microbes as climate makers15 How a state was founded with the aid of Clostridium acetobutylicum16 Pulque, wine, and biofuel17 Energy conservation from renewable resources18 Cheese and vinegar19 The periodic table of bioelements20 Bacterial sex life21 Bacteria can also catch viruses 22 Antibiotics: from microorganisms, against microorganisms23 Plasmids and resistances 24 Agrobacterium tumefaciens, a genetic engineer par excellence25 Eco R1 and PCR - molecular biology at its finest26 Interbacterial relationships27 From life as a nomad to life as an endosymbiont28 Bacteria as production factories 29 Plants, animals, and humans as food resources of bacteria30 Viruses, chemicals causing epidemics?31 The "-omics" era32 Incredible microbesEpilogueSTUDY GUIDEOverview to the Study GuideMicrobial growthMolecules that make up microbesEvolution, from the RNA world to the tree of lifeArchaeaBacterial diversityMembranes and energyCarbon metabolismRegulation of microbial metabolismGenomes, genes, and gene transferIn-depth study of four special topicsSelected literatureGlossarySubject index of figures and tablesIndex

A chemist by training, Gerhard Gottschalk received his PhD in microbiology in 1963 from the University of Göttingen, Germany, before becoming a post-doc at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1970 he was made a full professor for microbiology in Göttingen, where he also served as president between 1975 and 1976. He was a visiting professor in UC Davis in 1973 and UC Berkeley in 1979, and head of the Laboratory for Genome Analysisat the Institute of Microbiology and Genetics in Göttingen from 1999 to 2007. He has received numerous awards, including the Philip Morris Prize for cutting-edge technology, the Winogradsky Medal, the Emil von Behring Prize and the first class German National Medal of Honor. Professor Gottschalk is a member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences, the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, an honorary member of theIsraeli Society of Microbiology, and a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. He was president of All European Academies (ALLEA) from 1998 to 2000 and president of the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities from 2003 to 2007.

"I would highly recommend this book to anyone seek-ing to investigate the world of microbes, or perhaps looking for a teaching tool. The chapters are concise and complete, and include unique and captivating quotes to draw the reader in." ( Phenotype , 1 February 2013)

"I would highly recommend this book to anyone seek-ing to investigate the world of microbes, or perhaps looking for a teaching tool. The chapters are concise and complete, and include unique and captivating quotes to draw the reader in." ( Phenotype , 1 February 2013)