Synthetic microbial research-challenges and prospects are more inclined towards interdisciplinary studies. Recent developments in the Microbial technologies have led to a better understanding of living systems and this has removed the demarcations between various disciplines of biological sciences. A new trend in bioscience incorporates Bitechnology and biological research involving Agrobacterium mediated gene transfer in medicinal plants for enhanced production of secondary metabolites, Biohydrogen and bioplastic from photosynthetic bacteria – A State of art review, Microbial Cellulase- An Overview, Microbial Nanotechnology: Challenges and Prospects for Green Biocatalytic Synthesis of Nanoscale Materials for Sensory and Biomedical Applications, Probiotics and Its application, Impact of Copper on water treatment plant, Chitin and Chitinases: An overview of production and applications, Therapeutic approaches for the manageent of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, The 3Rs of managing solid waste: reduce, reuse and recycle, Green Synthesis of Algal Nanoparticles and its Biotechnological Potentials, Biopigments, Microbial profiling of vermicompost.

Petroleum hydrocarbons are both a product of, and rich substrate for, microorganisms from across all Domains of life. Rooted deeply in the history of microbiology, hydrocarbons have been studied as sources of carbon and energy for microorganisms for over a century. As global demand for petroleum and its refined products continues to rise, so do challenges associated with environmental pollution, oil well souring, infrastructure corrosion, oil recovery, transport, refining, and upgrading of heavy crude oils and bitumens. Advances in genomics, synthetic biology and metabolic engineering has invigorated interest in petroleum microbial biotechnology as interest grows in technologies for in situ methane production, biodesulfurization and biodenitrogenation, bio-upgrading of heavy crudes, microbial enhanced oil recovery, corrosion control, and biocatalysts for generating value-added products. Given the complexity of the global petroleum industry and the harsh conditions in which it operates, a deeper understanding of the ecophysiology of aerobic and anaerobic microbial communities that have associations with petroleum hydrocarbons is needed if robust technologies are to be deployed successfully. This research topic highlights recent advances in microbial enhanced oil recovery, methanogenic hydrocarbon metabolism and carbon dioxide sequestration, bioremediation, microbiologically influenced corrosion, biodesulfurization, and the application of metagenomics to better understand microbial communities associated with petroleum hydrocarbons.

The 21st century has witnessed a complete revolution in the understanding and description of bacteria in eco- systems and microbial assemblages, and how they are regulated by complex interactions among microbes, hosts, and environments. The human organism is no longer considered a monolithic assembly of tissues, but is instead a true ecosystem composed of human cells, bacteria, fungi, algae, and viruses. As such, humans are not unlike other complex ecosystems containing microbial assemblages observed in the marine and earth environments. They all share a basic functional principle: Chemical communication is the universal language that allows such groups to properly function together. These chemical networks regulate interactions like metabolic exchange, antibiosis and symbiosis, and communication. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Chemical Sciences Roundtable organized a series of four seminars in the autumn of 2016 to explore the current advances, opportunities, and challenges toward unveiling this "chemical dark matter" and its role in the regulation and function of different ecosystems. The first three focused on specific ecosystemsâ€"earth, marine, and humanâ€"and the last on all microbiome systems. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the seminars.

Scientific advances over the past several decades have accelerated the ability to engineer existing organisms and to potentially create novel ones not found in nature. Synthetic biology, which collectively refers to concepts, approaches, and tools that enable the modification or creation of biological organisms, is being pursued overwhelmingly for beneficial purposes ranging from reducing the burden of disease to improving agricultural yields to remediating pollution. Although the contributions synthetic biology can make in these and other areas hold great promise, it is also possible to imagine malicious uses that could threaten U.S. citizens and military personnel. Making informed decisions about how to address such concerns requires a realistic assessment of the capabilities that could be misused. Biodefense in the Age of Synthetic Biology explores and envisions potential misuses of synthetic biology. This report develops a framework to guide an assessment of the security concerns related to advances in synthetic biology, assesses the levels of concern warranted for such advances, and identifies options that could help mitigate those concerns.

Humans coexist with millions of harmless microorganisms, but emerging diseases, resistance to antibiotics, and the threat of bioterrorism are forcing scientists to look for new ways to confront the microbes that do pose a danger. This report identifies innovative approaches to the development of antimicrobial drugs and vaccines based on a greater understanding of how the human immune system interacts with both good and bad microbes. The report concludes that the development of a single superdrug to fight all infectious agents is unrealistic.

In recent years, there has been a global surge in the production and application of vitamins and pigments in food and pharmaceuticals industries, leading to draw the attention of scientific communities to develop novel strategies to cope with world demand. Microbial vitamins and carotenoids in food biotechnology: Novel source and potential applications allow the audience to understand the current status of the biotechnological approaches used for the production of vitamins and carotenoids from microorganisms. The title provides important insights to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in microbial biosynthesis of vitamins and carotenoids. The chapters, all written by leading researchers from academia, help to put forward all the latest advancement concerning the production and applications of microbial vitamins and carotenoids. The book also provides the sustainable alternative to chemically synthesized compound and presents the wide coverage for the most promising sources of vitamins and carotenoids in food and pharmaceutical industries. This is a complete and unique resource beneficial for the scientific communities as well as food science and nutrition research students. Thoroughly explores biotechnological approaches surrounding the production and application of microbial vitamins and carotenoids in food processing and manufacturing industries Covers the major portion of novel source and various biotechnological approaches used for the production of various types of vitamins and carotenoids from microorganisms and their applications in food industry Contains up-to-date information required for the formulations of new products or protocols for enhancing production of specific compounds