Extremophiles

Sustainable Resources and Biotechnological Implications

Om V. Singh

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781118103005
• eBook ISBN: 9781118394113
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Microbiology
• Index: Biological Sciences

Explores the utility and potential of extremophiles in sustainability and biotechnology

Many extremophilic bio-products are already used as life-saving drugs. Until recently, however, the difficulty of working with these microbes has discouraged efforts to develop extremophilic microbes as potential drug reservoirs of the future. Recent technological advances have opened the door to exploring these organisms anew as sources of products that might prove useful in clinical and environmental biotechnology and drug development.

Extremophiles features outstanding articles by expert scientists who shed light on broad-ranging areas of progress in the development of smart therapeutics for multiple disease types and products for industrial use. It bridges technological gaps, focusing on critical aspects of extremolytes and the mechanisms regulating their biosynthesis that are relevant to human health and bioenergy, including value-added products of commercial significance as well as other potentially viable products.

This groundbreaking guide:

• Introduces the variety of extremophiles and their extremolytes including extremozymes
• Provides an overview of the methodologies used to acquire extremophiles
• Reviews the literature on the diversity of extremophiles
• Offers tools and criteria for data interpretation of various extremolytes/extremozymes
• Discusses experimental design problems associated with extremophiles and their therapeutic implications
• Explores the challenges and possibilities of developing extremolytes for commercial purposes
• Explains the FDA's regulations on certain microbial bio-products that will be of interest to potential industrialists

Extremophiles is an immensely useful resource for graduate students and researchers in biotechnology, clinical biotechnology, microbiology, and applied microbiology.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedicatioon
• Contributors
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Molecular evolution of extremophiles
• Chapter 2: Attaining extremophiles and extremolytes: methodologies and limitations
• Chapter 3: Strategies for the isolation and cultivation of halophilic microorganisms
• Chapter 4: Halophilic properties and their manipulation and application
• Chapter 5: Features and Applications of Halophilic Archaea
• Chapter 6: Biotechnological Applications of Cold-Adapted Bacteria
• Chapter 7: Ecology and Biotechnology of Extremophilic Microorganisms, Particularly Anaerobic Thermophiles
• Chapter 8: The role of extremophilic microorganisms and their bioproducts in food processing and production
• Chapter 9: Extremophiles and their application to biofuel research
• Chapter 10: Sustainable Role of Thermophiles in the Second Generation of Ethanol Production
• Chapter 11: Ecofriendly aspects of the use of extremophilic enzymes in textile substrates
• Chapter 12: The Use of Extremophilic Microorganisms in the Industrial Recovery of Metals
• Chapter 13: Bacterial polymers produced by extremophiles: biosynthesis, characterization, and applications of exopolysaccharides
• Chapter 14: Biomedical Applications of Exopolysaccharides produced by Microorganisms Isolated from Extreme Environments
• Chapter 15: Biosynthesis of Extremolytes: Radiation Resistance and Biotechnological Implications
• Chapter 16: Smart Therapeutics from Extremophiles: Unexplored Applications and Technological Challenges
• Index