Biology

Chlamydiais an important bacterial pathogen and a major cause of human and animal disease. Each year, more cases of chlamydial infection are reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention than all other infections combined, illustrating its enormous public health impact. This book provides an up-to-date review of the clinical infections caused by the two main human pathogens C. trachomatis and C. pneumoniae, as well as chapters on veterinary Chlamydiaspecies and Chlamydia-related bacteria. Multiple chapters cover cutting-edge developments in Chlamydia research, from the basic biology of the intracellular chlamydial infection to the host immune response and work towards a Chlamydia vaccine. Also highlighted are recent advances in chlamydial genetics and genomics, which have transformed the field. For the first time in a Chlamydia book, there are chapters on Chlamydia cell division and differentiation and Chlamydia infections and the microbiota, which are two hot areas of research. Each of the nineteen chapters is written by experts, who have made major contributions through their work and come from different research groups to ensure a broad and fresh perspective. This book will be of interest to Chlamydia researchers, microbiologists, cell biologists, infectious disease clinicians, public health professionals and government policy makers. It will be especially useful for newcomers to the Chlamydia field, who will find a current and comprehensive summary of Chlamydia research in one volume.

Many of the characteristics that distinguish plants from other living organisms can be traced to their bacterial origin early in the history of life. These features - such as a multicellular haploid life stage, prevalent hermaphroditism, self-fertilization, and general dependence on biotic andabiotic vectors for reproduction - stem directly from the plant's ability to obtain energy from the sun. This novel mode of energy capture had far-ranging implications for plant evolution. It not only fueled the tremendous diversification of life on Earth that followed, but also had far-rangingimplications for the evolution of photosynthetic microorganisms and eventually for land plants. Understanding the evolutionary processes for the proliferation and diversification of plants requires an appreciation of their unique biological features. While the processes of mutation, selection,genetic drift, and gene flow remain the same for both plants and animals, there are specific characteristics of plants that modify the way their evolution is implemented.Unique traits of plants affect everything from the fate of mutations, through exposure to selection in a haploid life phase, to the distribution of genetic variation within populations, and ultimately the rates and patterns of diversification. This book examines the origins of the uniqueevolutionary features of plants, as well as their implications for evolutionary processes. Author Mitchell B. Cruzan provides contemporary discussion of subjects including population genetics, phylogeography, phylogenetics, ecological genetics, and genomics. The book fills a need for modern coverageof these topics, all of which are essential to a wide range of advanced courses in plant biology.

This is a book which examines and explores the discoveries as well as the lives of twenty-five stellar scientists who have all contributed in different ways to the field that we know today as "molecular biology". The book covers a vast timeline from the last century to present day advances and concerns such as viral replication and transmission. The book examines the foundational structures of the field as well as how many scientists and basic scientific knowledge has contributed to our current understanding. Beginning with DNA (as hereditary material) and evolving into recombinant DNA and replication and somatic DNA, the book covers the way in which scientists have examined and explored these realms and some of the resultant discoveries which have led to the Nobel Prize. Nobel prize winners are not born, but they are made -- they are made from years of education, years of familial nurturance, years of mentoring by other scientists (either formally or informally) and of course by luck, chance, fate and surreptitious encounters. Some of our scientists have spent years studying the fruit fly (drosophila), fly genetics, mutations, replications, and of course, genes, gene replication, split genes and "jumping genes". For those seeking an overview of the field of molecular biology this text will provide an overview of the lives of those who have delved most deeply into these issues and those whose discoveries have resulted in the Nobel Prize. The test is certainly relevant in today's world as we encounter and challenge the dreaded ever evolving virus known as Covid-19 which seems intent on replicating, changing, evolving and challenging mankind and our scientific community.