Thermophiles : biology and technology at high temperatures / edited by Frank Robb ... [and others].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Robb, F. T. (Frank T.)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Thermophilic microorganisms.

Bacterial Physiological Phenomena.

Adaptation, Physiological.

Archaea--genetics.

Archaea--physiology.

Bacteria--genetics.

Genetics, Microbial.

Hot Temperature.

Medical Subjects:

Bacterial Physiological Phenomena.

Adaptation, Physiological.

Archaea--genetics.

Archaea--physiology.

Bacteria--genetics.

Genetics, Microbial.

Hot Temperature.

Physical Description:

xiii, 353 pages, 2 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (partly color) ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

Boca Raton, FL : CRC Press, [2008]

Summary:

We might think of them as living on the very edge of existence. Referred to as extremophiles, these microorganisms exhibit the most radical capacity for adaptation. They survive and in many cases thrive in harsh environments that we believe are just barely conducive to the existence of cellular life. Unlocking the mechanisms and understanding the evolutionary development that allows these simple yet elegant organisms to thrive can teach us much about our own microbiology. One example, thermophiles (literally: heat lovers) are microorganisms that thrive at temperatures above the mesophilic range of 25-40[degree]C.

Until recently, due to the extreme environment they inhabit, the study of thermophiles was highly limited. However with the advent of new tools, particularly whole genome analysis, genetic manipulation and community sequencing, remarkable strides have been made in the study of these extreme examples of living adaptive organisms.

Thermophiles: Biology and Technology at High Temperatures presents a cogent summary of the progress made in studying these extremophiles and speaks directly to the implications of that progress. Much is being learned from the study of thermophiles, especially our understanding of fundamental biology at the molecular level and the genetic mechanisms that permit adaptation and survival. By studying this extreme example of life, its subtle, yet exaggerated response mechanisms, and its development over the course of many short-lived generations, we may begin to understand the mechanisms in a number of diseases linked to improper protein folding, and also begin to more fully understand the ingenious design of DNA, and all that such an understanding implies regarding the health and survival of human life in a rapidly changing environment.

Contents:

Introduction / Frank T. Robb ... [et al.]

Compatible solutes of (hyper)thermophiles and their role in protein stabilization / Helena Santos ... [et al.]

Relationships among catalytic activity, structural flexibility, and conformational stability as deduced from the analysis of mesophilic-thermophilic enzyme pairs and protein engineering studies / Reinhard Sterner and Eike Brunner

Membranes and transport proteins of thermophilic microorganisms / Sonja Verena Albers and Arnold J.M. Driessen

Thermophilic protein-folding systems / Frank T. Robb and Pongpan Laksanalamai

Physical properties of membranes composed of tetraether archaeal lipids / Parkson Lee-Gau Chong

Glycolysis in hyperthermophiles / Peter Schönheit

Industrial relevance of thermophiles and their enzymes / Garabed Antranikian

Denitrification pathway enzymes of thermophiles / Simon de Vries and Imke Schröder

DNA stability and repair / Malcolm F. White and Dennis W. Grogan

Plasmids and cloning vectors for thermophilic archaea / Kenneth M. Stedman

Genetic analysis in extremely thermophilic bacteria: an overview / Dennis W. Grogan

Targeted gene disruption as a tool for establishing gene function in hyperthermophilic archaea / Haruyuki Atomi and Tadayuki Imanaka

Nanobiotechnological potential of viruses of hyperthermophilic archaea / Tamara Basta and David Prangishvili

Master keys to DNA replication, repair, and recombination from the structural biology of enzymes from thermophiles / Li Fan ... [et al.]

DNA replication in thermophiles / Jae-Ho Shin, Lori M. Kelman, and Zvi Kelman

DNA-binding proteins and DNA topology / Kathleen Sandman

Structure and evolution of the Thermus thermophilus ribosome / Steven T. Gregory and Albert E. Dalberg

Protein phosphorylation at 80°C and above / Peter J. Kennelly

Archaeal 20S proteasome: a simple and thermostable model system for the core particle / Joshua K. Michel and Robert M. Kelly.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780849392146

0849392144

OCLC:

156863731

Online:

Publisher description