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Cold-water corals form reef structures in continental margin and seamount settings world-wide, making them more wide-spread and abundant than shallow-water reefs. Their role in these ecosystems is no less important than the influence that shallow-water coral reefs have on tropical systems. They create habitat structure, host endemic species, enhance elemental cycling, alter current flow, sequester carbon, and provide many other ecosystem services that we are just beginning to understand. The rapidly evolving state of knowledge of cold-water and deep-sea coral reefs has not been compiled in over 10 years. This volume synthesizes recent and historical information, reveals new findings from reefs that have been discovered only recently, and presents key avenues for future research. We are on the cusp of understanding the critical role that cold-water coral reefs play in the world's oceans, and this book lays the foundation on which this knowledge will be built in the future.

​This book focuses on the importance of omics strategies and de-replication analysis to unveil new molecules from microbial sources with diverse chemical structures and biological functions. Chapters address metabolomics strategies, which will lead to a better understanding of the chemical interactions between microorganisms, plant-microorganisms, and virus-microorganisms. Authors also describe analytical tools used in microbial metabolomics and natural products discovery, in addition to describing a step-by-step protocol to identify and annotate metabolites using various databases and online platforms. The book presents the newest research, tools, and protocols for chemists, biochemists, bio-and chemical engineers, and biotechnologists, among others.

The present volume is the third in a trilogy that documents naturally occurring organohalogen compounds, bringing the total number — from fewer than 25 in 1968 — to approximately 8,000 compounds to date. Nearly all of these natural products contain chlorine or bromine, with a few containing iodine and, fewer still, fluorine. Produced by ubiquitous marine (algae, sponges, corals, bryozoa, nudibranchs, fungi, bacteria) and terrestrial organisms (plants, fungi, bacteria, insects, higher animals) and universal abiotic processes (volcanos, forest fires, geothermal events), organohalogens pervade the global ecosystem. Newly identified extraterrestrial sources are also documented. In addition to chemical structures, biological activity, biohalogenation, biodegradation, natural function, and future outlook are presented.

This book focuses on the emerging research in the field of treatment of solid tumors or cancer with new drug delivery systems using nanotechnology. Nanotechnology has given us a good scope for development of new innovative drug delivery strategies to increase the therapeutic efficacy of anticancer drugs with reduced off-target side effects. Cancer is one of the main causes of death worldwide due to the limitations of classical therapies such as low solubility of active drugs, toxic side effects on healthy cells and resistance of tumor cells. These issues are partly solved by the recent development of polymeric nanoparticles, which improve drug absorption and the therapeutic index, while reducing side effects. Drug carriers must be biocompatible, biodegradable and non-immunogenic. Coupled to a ligand that has affinity for that particular cell, polymeric nanoparticles are used to target specifically malignant cells or tissues and, in turn, improve drug stability. This book presents the latest advances in the application of polymeric particles for cancer treatment, with focus on the tumor microenvironment, synthesis, active and passive targeting, patents, targeting over-expressed receptors, tumor-targeting ligands, theranostics, glioblastoma tumors, lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer and pH-responsive nanoparticles

Phytochemistry, Computational Tools and Databases in Drug Discovery presents the state-of-the-art in computational methods and techniques for drug discovery studies from medicinal plants. Various tools and databases for virtual screening and characterization of plant bioactive compounds and their subsequent predictions on biological targets for the discovery of new drugs against specific diseases are presented, along with computational tools for the prediction of the toxic effects of phytochemicals on living systems. The book also provides in-depth insight on the applications of these computational tools as well as the databases that describe the interactions of phytochemicals with diseases along with predictions for druggable bioactive compounds. Useful for drug developers, medicinal chemists, toxicologists, phytochemists, plant biochemists and analytical chemists, this book clearly presents the various computational techniques, tools and databases for phytochemical research. - Provides the various databases, methods and procedures for computational drug discovery in plants - Includes insights into the predictors for properties of phytochemicals against different diseases - Discusses the applications of computational tools and their databases

This edited volume is a compilation of 30 articles discussing what constitutes food for health and longevity. The aim is to provide up-to-date information, insights, and future tendencies in the ongoing scientific research about nutritional components, food habits and dietary patterns in different cultures. The health-sustaining and health-promoting effects of food are certainly founded in its overall composition of macronutrients and micronutrients. However, the consumption of these nutrients is normally in the form of raw or prepared food from the animal and plant sources. The book is divided into four parts and a conclusion, and successfully convenes the well-established information and knowledge, along with the personal views of a diversified group of researchers and academicians on the multifaceted aspects of nutrition, food and diet. The first part reviews the scientific information about proteins, carbohydrates, fats and oils, micronutrients, pro- and pre-biotics, and hormetins, along with a discussion of the evolutionary principles and constraints about what is optimal food, if any. The second part discusses various kinds of foods and food supplements with respect to their claimed benefits for general health and prevention of some diseases. The third part brings in the cultural aspects, such as what are the principles of healthy eating according to the traditional Chinese and Indian systems, what is the importance of mealing times and daily rhythms, and how different cultures have developed different folk wisdoms for eating for health, longevity and immortality. In the part four, various approaches which are either already in practice or are still in the testing and research phases are discussed and evaluated critically, for example intermittent fasting and calorie restriction, food-based short peptides, senolytics, Ayurvedic compounds, optimal food for old people, and food for the prevention of obesity and other metabolic disorders. The overreaching aim of this book is to inform, inspire and encourage students, researchers, educators and medical health professionals thinking about food and food habits in a holistic context of our habits, cultures and patterns. Food cannot be reduced to a pill of nutritional components. Eating food is a complex human behavior culturally evolved over thousands of years. Perhaps the old adage “we are what we eat” needs to be modified to “we eat what we are”.

The Central Andean Altiplane represents a unique extreme environment due to its high altitude, closed basins that modulate the salt pans and saline wetlands surrounded by deserts, as well as the considerable influence of volcanic activity. UV radiation, arsenic content, high salinity, alkalinity and low dissolved oxygen levels, together with extreme daily temperature fluctuations and oligotrophic conditions, shape an environment that resembles the early Earth and, even more, extraterrestrial conditions. By developing simple biofilms stratified microbial mats or complex microbialites, extreme microbial ecosystems, colonize and thrived in different environments like salt flats, wetlands, lakes volcano vents, geysers and deserts. This book presents our current understanding of these amazing ecosystems, providing a basis for their protection and sustainable utilization. The main audience for this book included researchers and graduate students as well as professionals working in the government, mining industry and similar activities.

Frontiers in Clinical Drug Research – Anti infectives is a book series that brings updated reviews to readers interested in learning about advances in the development of pharmaceutical agents for the treatment of infectious diseases. The scope of the book series covers a range of topics including the chemistry, pharmacology, molecular biology and biochemistry of natural and synthetic drugs employed in the treatment of infectious diseases. Reviews in this series also include research on multi drug resistance and pre-clinical / clinical findings on novel antibiotics, vaccines, antifungal agents and antitubercular agents.Frontiers in Clinical Drug Research – Anti infectives is a valuable resource for pharmaceutical scientists and postgraduate students seeking updated and critically important information for developing clinical trials and devising research plans in the field of anti infective drug discovery and epidemiology. The fifth volume of this series features six reviews: - Integrated Approaches for Marine Actinomycete Biodiscovery - Therapeutic Use of Commensal Microbes: Fecal/Gut Microbiota Transplantation - Alternative Approaches to Antimicrobials - Nanoantibiotics: Recent Developments and Future - Cranberry Juice and Other Functional Foods in Urinary Tract Infections in Women: A Review of Actual Evidence and Main Challenges - Targeting Magnesium Homeostasis as Potential Anti-Infective Strategy Against Mycobacteria

This book focuses on the symbiotic microbiomes of invertebrates in coral reefs, especially sponges and corals. It provides in-depth and up-to-date reviews on the microbial structure and diversity, metabolism and function, symbiosis and coevolution, environment and adaption, and bioactive potentials. Meanwhile, the future perspectives will be discussed according to the existing problems and the development trend. This book will be of particular interest to the professionals in marine ecology, marine biotechnology, as well as medicinal chemists and molecular biologists.

This book highlights the potential advantages of using marine invertebrates like tunicates, echinoderms, sponges and cephalopods as models in both biological and medical research. Bioactive compounds found in marine organisms possess antibacterial, antifungal, anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory properties, and can affect the immune and nervous systems. Despite substantial research on the medicinal attributes of various marine invertebrates, they are still very much underrepresented in scientific literature: the majority of cell, developmental and evolutionary scientific journals only publish research conducted on a few well-known model systems like Drosophila melanogaster or Xenopus laevis. Addressing that gap, this book introduces readers to new model organisms like starfish or nemertera. By showing their benefits with regard to regeneration, stem cell research and Evo-Devo, the authors provide a cross-sectional view encompassing various disciplines ofbiological research. As such, this book will not only appeal to scientists currently working on marine organisms, but will also inspire future generations to pursue research of their own.

Bryozoans are aquatic animals that form colonies of connected individuals. They take a variety of forms: some are bushy and moss-like, some are flat and encrusting and others resemble lace. Bryozoans are mostly marine, with species found in all oceans from sublittoral to abyssal depths, but freshwater species also exist. Some bryozoans are of concern as marine-fouling organisms and invasive species, while others show promise as sources of anticancer, antiviral and antifouling substances. Written by experts in the field, Australian Bryozoa Volume 1: Biology, Ecology and Natural History is the first of two volumes describing Australia's 1200 known species of bryozoans, the richest diversity of bryozoans of any country in the world. It contains chapters on the discovery of bryozoans, their morphology, classification and fossil history, their roles in biosecurity and marine benthic environments, and potential uses in biotechnology and ocean acidification. It provides an authoritative reference for biology students, academics and others interested in marine biology. Joint Recipient, 2019 Whitley Awards Certificate of Commendation: Biological Resource

One of the most serious consequences of global climate change for coral reefs is the increased frequency and severity of mass coral bleaching events and, since the first edition of this volume was published in 2009, there have been additional mass coral bleaching events. This book provides comprehensive information on the causes and consequences of coral bleaching for coral reef ecosystems, from the genes and microbes involved in the bleaching response, to individual coral colonies and whole reef systems. It presents detailed analyses of how coral bleaching can be detected and quantified and reviews future scenarios based on modeling efforts and the potential mechanisms of acclimatisation and adaptation. It also briefly discusses emerging research areas that focus on the development of innovative interventions aiming to increase coral climate resilience and restore reefs.

Metagenomics: Perspectives, Methods, and Applications provides thorough coverage of the growing field of metagenomics. A diverse range of chapters from international experts offer an introduction to the field and examine methods for metagenomic analysis of microbiota, metagenomic computational tools, and recent metagenomic studies in various environments. The emphasis on application makes this text particularly useful for applied researchers, practitioners, clinicians and students seeking to employ metagenomic approaches to advance knowledge in the biomedical and life sciences. Case-study based application chapters examine topics ranging from viral metagenome profiling, metagenomics in oral disease and health, metagenomic insights into the human gut microbiome and metabolic syndromes, and more. Additionally, perspectives on future potential at the end of each chapter provoke new thought and motivations for continued study in this exciting and fruitful research area. - Provides thorough coverage of the rapidly growing field of metagenomics, with an emphasis on applications of relevance to translational researchers, practitioners, clinicians and students - Features a diverse range of chapters from international experts that offer an introduction to the field and examine methods for metagenomic analysis of microbiota, metagenomic computational tools and research pipelines - Highlights perspectives on future potential at the end of each chapter to provoke new thought and motivations for continued study in this exciting and fruitful research area

This edited book, is a collection of 25 chapters describing the recent advancements in the application of microbial technology in the food and pharmacology sector. The main focus of this book is application of microbes, food preservation techniques utilizing microbes, probiotics, seaweeds, algae, enzymatic abatement of urethane in fermentation of beverages, bioethanol production, pesticides, probiotic biosurfactants, drought tolerance, synthesis of application of oncolytic viruses in cancer treatment, microbe based metallic nanoparticles, agro chemicals, endophytes, metabolites, antibiotics etc. This book highlighted the significant aspects of the vast subject area of microbial biotechnology and their potential applications in food and pharmacology with various topics from eminent experts around the World. This book would serve as an excellent reference book for researchers and students in the Food Science, Food Biotechnology, Microbiology and Pharmaceutical fields.

The series Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry presents critical reviews on present and future trends in the research of heterocyclic compounds. Overall the scope is to cover topics dealing with all areas within heterocyclic chemistry, both experimental and theoretical, of interest to the general heterocyclic chemistry community. The series consists of topic related volumes edited by renowned editors with contributions of experts in the field. All chapters from Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry are published Online First with an individual DOI. In references, Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry is abbreviated as Top Heterocycl Chem and cited as a journal

This book describes the latest advances in systems biology in four plant-based marine ecosystems: seaweeds, seagrasses, microalgae, and corals. Marine organisms that inhabit the oceanic environment experience a diverse range of environmental fluctuations, anthropogenic stress, and threats from invasive species and pathogens. System biology integrates physiology, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics into numerical models and is emerging as an important approach to elucidate the functional adaptations of marine organisms to adverse environmental conditions. This book focuses on how ecophysiology, omics platforms, their integration (a systems biology perspective), and next generation sequencing tools are being used to address the stress response of marine seaweeds, seagrasses, corals, marine microbe diversity, and micro-and macroalgae/corals-bacterial interactions to global climate change and anthropogenic activities. The contents of the book are of special interest tograduate and postgraduate marine biology students and marine biology researchers, particularly those interested in marine ecology, stress physiology of marine macrophytes/corals/phytoplankton, and environmental microbiology. This book would also be of interest to marine engineers engaged in the management and conservation of our valuable marine resources.

Marine Biomedicine: From Beach to Bedside assesses current efforts in marine biomedicine and evaluates the implications of recent advances on the future of the field.Richly illustrated in full color to enhance reader comprehension, the book covers four sections. The first one addresses the technology that has recently been brought to bear on the st

The main focus of this book entitled is to provide an up-to-date coverage of marine sponges and their significance in the current era. This book is an attempt to compile an outline of marine sponge research to date, with specific detail on these bioactive compounds, and their pharmacological and biomedical applications. The book encompasses twenty chapters covering various topics related to Marine Sponges. Initial couple of chapters deal about the worldwide status of marine sponge research, the recent findings regarding dynamics of sponges, and several interesting research areas, that are believed to be deserving of increased attention. Variety of sponges, their toxicology, metagenomics, pharmaceutical significance and their possible applications in biomedicine has been discussed in detail. The second half of this part includes chapters on chemical ecology of marine sponges followed by the discussion on importance of bioeroding sponges in aquaculture systems. The following four chapters of the book deal majorly with the chemical molecules of marine sponges. In the fifth chapter, marine sponge-associated actinobacteria and their pysicochemical properties have been discussed followed by their bioactive potential. The biological application of marine sponges has been presented in later chapters with the classification of biologically active compounds being explored in detail. The second half of the book presents the vast repertoire of secondary metabolites from marine sponges, which include terpenoids, heterocycles, acetylenic compounds, steroids and nucleosides. Further, the bioactive potential of these compounds has also been discussed. One of the constituent chapter elaborates the bioactive alkaloids from marine sponges namely, pyridoacridine, indole, isoquinolene, piperidene, quinolizidine, steroidal and bromotyrosine alkaloids isolated from them. In the next couple of chapters, important sponge polymers and the anticancer effects of marine sponge compounds have been presented. The most interesting aspect of sponge biology is their use in biomedical arena. An effort has been made in this book, to cover the major constituents of sponges and their biomedical potentials. The major portion of sponge body is composed of collagen and silica and used in tissue engineering as scaffold material. This part of the book compiles chapters delineating the isolation of sponge biomaterials including collagen and their use in medical diagnostics. Overall, this book would be an important read for novice and experts in the field of sponge biology.

This book correlates the vast genetic diversity associated with environmental samples and still underexploited potential for the development of biotechnology products. The book points out the potential of different types of environmental samples. It presents the main characteristics of microbial diversity, the main approaches used for molecular characterization of the diversity, and practical examples of application of the exploration of the microbial diversity. It presents a not-yet-explored structure for discussing the main topics related to molecular biology of environmental prokaryotes and their biotechnological applications.

​This SpringerBrief sheds new light on bioactive materials from marine extremophiles. It deals with all aspects of the chemical compounds produced by organisms living under extreme conditions that may have potential as drugs or lead to novel drugs for human use.

This book provides an up-to-date review of recently identified natural anti-tumor compounds from various natural origins including plants, fungi, endophytic fungi and marine organisms. It also includes discussion of new areas such as biotechnology and nanoparticles. Chapters explain the challenges and developments in anti-cancer drug discovery approaches, traditional remedies for prevention and treatment of cancer, marine-derived anti-cancer compounds, and antibiotics used as anti-cancer agents, as well as different classes of terpenoids and carbohydrates, which have been the subject of discussion in this field as efficient anti-cancer candidates. This book will be a concise guide for researchers in the field of pharmaceutical sciences, students and residents in pharmacy and medicine as well as those researching phytochemistry and natural products.

​Fungi produce many chemically diverse secondary metabolites whose biological roles largely remain elusive. Within the increasing number of sequenced fungal genomes several important genes involved in secondary metabolite formation have been identified. Most of these genes are clustered and their coordinated transcription is controlled in a complex way by both narrow pathway-specific regulators as well as broad global transcription factors responsive to environmental cues. In recent years it was discovered many of the newly identified gene clusters are silent under laboratory conditions suggesting that the biosynthetic potential of fungi is far from being exploited. Besides identifying novel bioactive metabolites from still unexplored sources, the activation of these gene clusters by several approaches may result in the discovery of new substances with antibiotic and pharmaceutical benefits. This book covers recent advances in the field of fungal secondary metabolisms ranging from methodologies to biological aspects and will include the latest knowledge on fungal molecular biology, genomics, and metabolomics. With the related volume by Professor Juan-Francisco Martin, where the most relevant and well-studied fungal secondary metabolites are compiled, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art of research on fungal secondary metabolites.

This book analyses the deep interaction between the world's environmental crises, energy production, conversion and use, and global regulation policies. Bringing together experts from a wide range of scientific fields, it offers the reader a broad scope of knowledge on such topics as: climate change and exhaustion of resources the relationship between basic science and the development of sustainable energy technologies the relationship between global and local environmental policiesthe possible competition between foodstuff production and that of agro-fuels urban adaptation negotiations at the international level financial rules This book invites the reader to consider the multidisciplinary aspects of these urgent energy/environmental issues.

'Total Synthesis of Natural Products'is written and edited by some of today's leaders in organic chemistry. Eleven chapters cover a range of natural products, from steroids to alkaloids. Each chapter contains an introduction to the natural product in question, descriptions of its biological and pharmacological properties and outlines of total synthesis procedures already carried out. Particular emphasis is placed on novel methodologies developed by the respective authors and their research groups. This text is ideal for graduate and advanced undergraduate students, as well as organic chemists in academia and industry.