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Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been sought to be a potential alternative to the current arsenal of antibiotics against undesirable microbes. AMPs synthesized by lactic acid bacteria have attracted significant attention due to their strong activity against a broad range of bacteria including pathogens. The bacteriocin (an AMP) has been known to us since early 1928, a year before penicillin was reported. This is possibly due to their narrower activity compared to antibiotics. However, several AMPs having promising activity have been thoroughly characterized in the past few decades. Renewed interest has developed focusing on industrially important bacteriocins produced by lactic acid bacteria. Some of these AMPs are also active against food spoilage and clinically important pathogens. Similar to antibiotics, large-scale intellectual screening is ongoing in the search for novel AMPs with unique properties. Recent research has revealed that AMPs may also play a role in maintaining gut microflora and keeping us protected from food-borne pathogens. The ongoing genomic studies suggest that there may be more such bioactive compounds waiting to be explored. This book provides an overview of the fundamental knowledge accumulated so far regarding the diversity and potential applications of AMPs produced by lactic acid bacteria. This updated reference book on AMPs from lactic acid bacteria is timely, covering the most important achievements in the field and providing the scientific community particularly graduate students, researchers, and clinicians with the latest updates. The goal of this book is to illustrate and detail the findings made so far, debate the state of the art, and draw new perspectives.

This book provides a comprehensive reference for various plant bioactive compounds for research and pharmacological significance across the entire spectrum of phytochemical genomics. The book opens with general information on diversity, analysis and genomic basis of phytochemicals, computational approaches, databases for responsible genes, and biosynthetic pathways, and it delves very much into the details behind phytochemical diversity and diverse roles of plant metabolites. The later parts of the book also explore the direct drug discovery and omics approaches including metabolomics, transcriptomics, as well as gene editing technology experiments to further inspire readers into its unlimited potentials. Each chapter includes detailed analysis and relevant experiments for better and deeper understanding of the concepts. The book will be an invaluable aid for medicinal plant researchers and a rich source of information and advice for advanced undergraduates and graduates in the fields of medicine, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, flavor, and fragrance studies.

Redox Chemistry and Biology of Thiols offers an applied, comprehensive overview of redox chemistry and biology of thiol-dependent processes. Running from basic biology and chemistry of redox phenomena to research methods and highlighting recently identified roles of thiols across cellular and bodily systems, this book draws upon a range of disciplines to illuminate new research directions, new applications of thiol studies, and clinical translation. Sections cover thiol oxidizing species, thiol reactivity and modifications, thioredoxin, glutaredoxin, glutathione, peroxidases, thiol repair enzymes, thiol oxidative signaling, disulfide bond formation, thiol-based redox biosensors, cysteine and hydrogen sulfide metabolism, iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis, thiols in chloroplasts, blood thiols, sugar and polyamine thiols in pathogenic organisms, redox medicine (therapeutic applications of thiols and drug development), as well as methods and bioinformatics tools. - Runs from basic thiol biology and chemistry to applications and clinical translation - Provides methods and protocols that will power new research across biomedicine, cell biology, plant biology, drug development, and protein folding and modulation - Includes chapter contributions from international leaders in the field

Now available in paperback, Molecular Plant Breeding provides an integrative overview of issues from basic theories to their applications to crop improvement. Chapters include discussions of breeding methodology, quantitative genetics, genomics and bioinformatics and present statistical issues related to gene mapping, marker-assisted selection and genotype by environment interactions in clear and concise language. Providing an integrated profile of molecular breeding in plants, this book will be an essential resource for researchers and students involved in plant biology and breeding, genetics and applied genomics.

This unique introduction to the growing field of microfluidics applied to genomics provides an overview of the latest technologies and emphasizes its potential in answering important biological questions. Written by a physicist and a biologist, it offers a more comprehensive view than the previous literature. The book starts with key ideas in molecular biology, developmental biology and microtechnology before going on to cover the specifics of single cell analysis and microfluidic devices for single cell molecular analysis. Review chapters discuss the state-of-the art and will prove invaluable to all those planning to develop microdevices for molecular analysis of single cells. Methods allowing complete analysis of gene expression in the single cell are stressed - as opposed the more commonly used techniques that allow analysis of only a few genes at a time. As pioneers in the field, the authors understand how critical it is for a physicist to understand the biological issues and questions related to single cell analysis, as well for biologists to understand what microfluidics is all about. Aimed predominantly at graduate students, this book will also be of significant interest to scientists working in or affiliated with this field.

Biological research and recent technological advances have resulted in an enormous increase in research data that require large storage capacities, powerful computing resources, and accurate data analysis algorithms. Bioinformatics is the field that provides these resources to life science researchers.The Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), which has celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2008, is an institution of national importance, recognized worldwide for its state-of-the-art work. Organized as a federation of bioinformatics research groups from Swiss universities and research institutes, the SIB provides services to the life science community that are highly appreciated worldwide, and coordinates research and education in bioinformatics nationwide. The SIB plays a central role in life science research both in Switzerland and abroad by developing extensive and high-quality bioinformatics resources that are essential for all life scientists. Knowledge developed by SIB members in areas such as genomics, proteomics, and systems biology is directly transformed by academia and industry into innovative solutions to improve global health. Such an astounding concentration of talent in a given field is unusual and unique in Switzerland.This book provides an insight into some of the key areas of activity in bioinformatics in Switzerland. With contributions from SIB members, it covers both research work and major infrastructure efforts in genome and gene expression analysis, investigations on proteins and proteomes, evolutionary bioinformatics, and modeling of biological systems.

International Review of Cytology presents current advances and comprehensive reviews in cell biology – both plant and animal. Authored by some of the foremost scientists in the field, each volume provides up-to-date information and directions for future research. Articles in this volume include Function and Evolution of the Vacuolar Compartment in Green Algae and Land Plants(Viridiplantae); Cell biology and pathophysiology of diacylglycerol kinase family: morphological aspects in tissues and organs; Structure and function of desmosomes; Subepithelial Fibroblasts in Intestinal Villi: Roles in Intercellular Communication; and Syndrome of Aluminum Toxicity and Diversity of Aluminum Resistance in Higher Plants.

As natural phenomena are being probed and mapped in ever-greater detail, scientists in genomics and proteomics are facing an exponentially growing vol­ ume of increasingly complex-structured data, information, and knowledge. Ex­ amples include data from microarray gene expression experiments, bead-based and microfluidic technologies, and advanced high-throughput mass spectrom­ etry. A fundamental challenge for life scientists is to explore, analyze, and interpret this information effectively and efficiently. To address this challenge, traditional statistical methods are being complemented by methods from data mining, machine learning and artificial intelligence, visualization techniques, and emerging technologies such as Web services and grid computing. There exists a broad consensus that sophisticated methods and tools from statistics and data mining are required to address the growing data analysis and interpretation needs in the life sciences. However, there is also a great deal of confusion about the arsenal of available techniques and how these should be used to solve concrete analysis problems. Partly this confusion is due to a lack of mutual understanding caused by the different concepts, languages, methodologies, and practices prevailing within the different disciplines.

Many of the new technologies that are transforming drug discovery require a high degree of interdisciplinary expertise in physical science, life science, and computer science for bioinformatic analysis of their output. In Bioinformatics and Drug Discovery, a panel of researchers from academic and pharmaceutical laboratories describes readily reproducible bioinformatic methods to advance the drug discovery process from gene identification to protein modeling to the identification of specific drug candidates. The authors demonstrate these techniques, including microarray analysis, the analysis of genes as potential drug targets, virtual screening and in silico protein design, and cheminformatics, in a variety of practical situations. Because these technologies are still emergent, each chapter contains an extended introduction that explains the theory and application of the technology and techniques described. The protocols follow the successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, each offering step-by-step laboratory instructions, an introduction outlining the principles behind the technique, lists of the necessary equipment and reagents, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Cutting-edge and highly practical, Bioinformatics and Drug Discovery makes it possible to apply in the research laboratory the powerful new technologies that promise to greatly improve and speed up the discovery of new drugs.

After the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953, scientists working in molecular biology embraced reductionism—the theory that all complex systems can be understood in terms of their components. Reductionism, however, has been widely resisted by both nonmolecular biologists and scientists working outside the field of biology. Many of these antireductionists, nevertheless, embrace the notion of physicalism—the idea that all biological processes are physical in nature. How, Alexander Rosenberg asks, can these self-proclaimed physicalists also be antireductionists? With clarity and wit, Darwinian Reductionism navigates this difficult and seemingly intractable dualism with convincing analysis and timely evidence. In the spirit of the few distinguished biologists who accept reductionism—E. O. Wilson, Francis Crick, Jacques Monod, James Watson, and Richard Dawkins—Rosenberg provides a philosophically sophisticated defense of reductionism and applies it to molecular developmental biology and the theory of natural selection, ultimately proving that the physicalist must also be a reductionist.

Chemical genomics is an exciting new field that promises to transform biological chemistry into a high-throughput industrialized process, much in the same way that genomics has transformed molecular biology. In Chemical Genomics: Reviews and Protocols, leading edge researchers introduce the uninitiated into the various'flavors'of chemical genomics and describe a series of readily reproducible techniques for applications in organic chemistry, protein chemistry, and computer science, with emphasis on the high-throughput approaches that are the essence of chemical genomics. The techniques range from the classic design of small molecules as affinity ligands for specific protein families, to in silico docking for computational approaches, to protein-small molecule interactions, to producing highly diverse collections of proteins, carbohydrates, and small molecules for use in arrays containing large numbers of these molecules. There are also methods for the production of proteins and carbohydrates using different expression systems, for analyzing proteins using mass spectrometry, and for arraying proteins and carbohydrates on solid supports. The protocols follow the successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, each offering step-by-step laboratory instructions, an introduction outlining the principles behind the technique, lists of the necessary equipment and reagents, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and timely, Chemical Genomics: Reviews and Protocols offers researchers an accessible introduction by pioneers to the key areas and methods of chemical genomics, as well as its use in the discovery and evaluation of novel drug targets.

A world wide interest in the various aspects of high pressure in the field of biological science led to the First International Conference on High Pressure Bioscience and Biotechnology in Kyoto, Japan. High pressure bioscience encompasses the fields of food sciences, pharmacy and medical fields and some high pressure techniques are used in the production of industrial products. Moreover, high pressure is a valuable tool for the study of natural macromolecules including biomembranes which are composed, primarily, of lipid and protein. Many intermediate processes in the pressure-induced protein unfolding have been discovered, as a result. This book covers the entire range of current high pressure bioscience and its possible applications.